# Ways to improve your thinking Sep 24, 2020 >[!note] >I wrote this a while ago. There is no _Me_ in this text. Just because at that time there was no me in pretty much everything I've been doing. So I'm not proud of this text. Still — let it stay here. For the last few years, I was teaching entrepreneurs (including myself) to think. These are the truths I feel like sharing.  ### **1\. The place where you are right now is the result of the way you think. Simple formula:**  - Your results depend on your actions.  - Your actions depend on your decisions. - Your decisions depend on what you know and the way your mind works. Simple as that.  ### **2\. Thinking is a full-time job.** You want it or not - your brain is working 24/7. I’m not saying you are busy thinking all the time consciously. But subconsciously, your mind always processes various stuff whether you want it or not. You can influence this process's contents by downloading useful things in your brain and getting rid of unnecessary mental clatter. In this regard, starting your day from social media and the latest news is probably the worst thing you can do.  ### **3\. You can deliberately improve your thinking by doing certain things** - Give yourself time and space Probably this is the most underestimated idea about thinking. Being busy all the time is overrated. Yet, we tend to fill our schedules with meetings, calls, and productive work. Walking along the waterfront in silence is seldomly considered to be a productive task. Despite the fact, it can bring you ideas that change the whole course of your life or business. - Know that you can’t be destructed. It’s not enough to place a sign, “do not disturb.” Even locking yourself in the room only works if you know that no one can knock on the door.  - Walk. Walk in the park. Walk along the water. Whichever works for you. Your brain works better when your blood circulates a bit faster. Sitting at the table is fine. I’m writing these lines sitting at the table, after all. But here I’m rather capturing the ideas that came to me while walking, than generating new ones. - Sit in the space you feel comfortable. When you have to sit at the table, show yourself some respect. Put away everything that distracts your attention. Each item on your table demands a tiny fraction of your attention without you even noticing. Many people justify the chaos in their workplace by calling it a creative setting. That’s fine. As long as you are willing to pay for your creativity with your ability to focus.  ### **4\. Don’t expect particular results on time. It ain’t working like that.**  So you’ve planned that walk in the park to think about how to improve your business model (true story by the way). And then nothing happens. You glance at the trees. You listen to the birds. You think of everything except for that damn business model. Yep. I’ve been there.  Sometimes it starts when you least expect it. Sometimes it doesn’t start at all. And that is absolutely fine. In moments like that, I always remember that TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert in 2009.  > *“Don’t be daunted. Just do your job. Continue to show up for your piece of it, whatever that might be.”*  Oh yes. It does apply to thinking.  ### **5\. Use frameworks.** A basic mental framework is just something that guides you — usually, a sequence of questions for you to ponder. Great questions give you a lot more than great answers.  If you give it a thought — any business book is nothing much but a mental framework applied to a certain domain. So the best way to read any non-fiction book — treat it as a map that you are applying to your life or business and see where it leads you.  ### **6\. Meditate** To hear your own voice, you need to immerse yourself in silence. Just for a couple of minutes to start with.  Actually, this post is a result of meditating. I know that meditation is not supposed to work this way. But if something comes your way during the meditation session - you don’t have to throw it away, right?