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Flexible Thinking Is the Tool You Need Right Now

Updated: Dec 2, 2022

Flexible thinking is an essential social ability. The ability to think in a flexible manner allows people to be more comfortable with each other, helps groups be more efficient, and assists people in solving problems or discovering new methods of thinking.

A more flexible mindset lets us think about and adjust to the various tasks, roles, and responsibilities we face every day. Sometimes it's best for us to become more disciplined and to adhere to strict rules, sometimes, it's best to be more flexible and flexible.

Flexible Thinking
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What does it mean to be flexible thinking?

It's pizza night. You've been anticipating the slice you've always wanted throughout the week. You're making your purchase when suddenly, power goes out.

The Pizza place must shut down for the night. What's your first idea? What are your next steps?

As an adult, you've been through a long time learning how to react in a situation like this. You've practiced your ideas like "I suppose I'll eat pizza the next evening." Then you quickly shift to a different option.

This is called flexible thinking (also known as the ability to think with a flexible mind (also known as cognitive flexibility). It's the capacity to think "I'll take this action..., or perhaps this. If the plan isn't working, the next one could."

How to create a flexible mind?

Here are brain-training exercises that will help you master it:

  1. Change the meaning. Have a break. Walk across the street. Pause for a coffee. Change the environment or the context of your environment, and you'll see your brain change. Exercise is another excellent mental stimulation.

  2. Do something different. Learn how to dance, master the latest language or prepare an original recipe. In a study conducted by researchers, people over the age of 65 who engaged in a variety of exciting and interesting activities for three months demonstrated a substantial increase in problem-solving skills, creativity, and other indicators that indicate "fluid intelligence" when compared with the control group. Flexibility in the mind is encouraged by new experiences, which can aid in the growth of the brain and its development over the course of.

  3. Ask yourself questions about your thoughts and expressions. Take note of what you're thinking and speaking. Do not be a slave or locked to one particular style to think, Also, notice your language. Dispute those opinions and phrases that aren't serving you. You can then replace the negative thoughts and phrases with efficient ideas and words.

  4. Be prepared to be flexible. Make a change to your routine. In the case of who likes to go for a walk in the evening every now and then, try an entirely new path. Sometimes, you'll have to alter the schedule that you go about your daily routine.

  5. Change your thinking. Creative and innovative ideas typically occur after periods of concentrated thought and a lack of focus.

Try the following strategies to encourage more flexible thinking and unleash creative new solutions to the problem you’re facing.

1. Seek inspiration from the outside.

Each of us has an internal schema that is shaped by our limited knowledge or exposure to the vast world of possibilities. It doesn't matter if it's our family or the culture we were raised in and the subjects we've learned about or the fields that we've worked in our decisions are based on our choices from only a small selection of patterns and standards that surround us.

2. Learn about things from a different profession

To challenge your habitual thinking and come up with more ideas, imagine yourself in the shoes of other professionals. For instance, think about how the CFO considers and resolves this issue? Or, the director of sales or one of your clients? What can an architect or a doctor do?

To take a different approach to this idea, try to adopt the perspective of someone who is outside the confines of who you really are. The idea of adopting an alter ego is an effective method to accomplish this.

3. Get proactive

The pursuit of creativity requires risk-taking and exploration. Be determined to find different ways to approach things. Make a bold goal of finding at least 10 new ideas. There's a connection between the amount of time we invest in searching for new ideas and the number of concepts we come up with so, give yourself plenty of time.

In the end, you must allow yourself to think of concepts that aren't practical or silly. The goal is to challenge your thought patterns. The absurd and impractical concepts that you create could be the foundation for new, practical solutions.

4. Take your mind off of things

To gain the insights that we require to resolve the complex issues of today it is necessary to take a break from time to time.

When you are thinking over a topic but then you stop thinking about it, your subconscious mind works in the background and creates connections. If you give your mind time to unwind and wander, new connections pop up in your consciousness as new insights.

Breaks are therefore crucial to the process of creativity. For instance, Albert Einstein regularly stepped off his desk to play his violin which he loved playing. After returning to his desk Einstein would connect dots that he had never seen before. This is when he came up with one of the more sophisticated science theories of the moment. According to Einstein stated, "I never came upon any of my discoveries via reasoning."

Our mental censors don’t randomly kill ideas. They use our knowledge and expectations of the world to assess which ideas are most promising, and only then do they eliminate the rest. Each day, some neural responses are strengthened, and others suppressed. The result is a brain well adapted to its environment, but wired to interpret the world through the lens of what has worked in the past. That approach is well suited to a stable environment.

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