How do your thoughts form?
Figuring out yourself is way trickier than we think
Today we’re running with a classic:
Five pieces of coal, a carrot and a scarf are lying on the lawn. Nobody put them on the lawn but there is a perfectly logical reason why they should be there. What is it?
Answer, at the end. If you were forwarded this email, subscribe here so you can be the one annoying your friends with lateral thinking newsletters.
Thinking in silence might be overrated
Thoughts form in your brain when a lot of neurons fire at the same time. Neurons need to be stimulated in order to fire off and there’s plenty of ways to do that.
Food is one way.
Talking is another.
I recently realized that my thoughts are clearer when I talk to someone about them - being forced to create a narrative around them makes it easier for me to pursue them and see where they go.
If I’m by myself, I can skip from one thought to another and never really go down the rabbit hole properly.
Before you ask - yes, I hear my own thoughts. That’s probably why it’s easier for me to think in the form of a conversation rather than treat it as an isolated activity.
So “think before you speak” (I’d add “read before you think” - thank you, Fran Lebowitz, for dropping some great soundbites) might be true in the sense that you shouldn’t commit to thoughts before processing them, but don’t disregard speaking altogether.
Being forced to articulate thoughts might help your creative process more than you think.
Answer: a snowman outlived his season.