Who doesn't want to be smarter?
Here are seven easy thinking tracks that will make you instantly smarter:
1. When you’re making a decision, think back to your decision from the future
For example, imagine how you’ll feel about yourself in an hour if you grab that apple now rather than the candy bar.
2. Slow your breathing to activate your long-term thinking
Breathing slowly activates your long-term thinking because it puts you in a calm mode rather than a panicky, anxious mode. When calm, we’re designed to think about the long-term. When fearful or rushed, we’re designed to think about the short-term. (H/T: The Willpower Instinct (link is external).)
3. Think about the advice you’d give someone else
It’s much easier to thinking rationally if you ask yourself what advice you’d give someone you don’t know who was in the same situation.
4. Think like a neutral observer
For example, think about a topic of conflict in your relationship. Ask yourself how your partner would describe the situation if asked, how you see the situation, and how a neutral observer would see it.
5. What would Bill Gates do?
Pick your desired role model and ask yourself what they’d do if facing the same situation.
6. Play Devil’s Advocate
What’s the counter argument to whatever you currently think?
7. For any action you’re considering, ask yourself what the best and worst possible outcomes are
This trick will help instantly balance your thinking if you’re prone to being either too optimistic or too pessimistic. You can also ask yourself what the most likely outcome is. What possibilities fall between best and worst?
There are plenty more tips like these in my new book “The Anxiety Toolkit: Strategies for Fine-Tuning Your Mind and Moving Past Your Stuck Points."
