Walk away to solve your problems. This works in a multitude of ways.
I was thinking about this recently while puzzled by the word game, “Connections.” If you’re unfamiliar with it, you are given 16 words and you must match them in four categories of four based on some component on how they relate to each other. For example, you might have “hammer,” “saw,” “nail,” and “shingle.” The category would be “things needed to repair a roof.”
The challenge in the game is that they give you cross-over words that seem to fit in multiple categories and it’s hard to determine which ones to eliminate and which ones match up. You figure it out through the process of elimination and quantum leaps of intuition and logic (or plain luck when you give up, which I do once or twice a week).
We need to thank AI or the software program (seems to me they are same thing, performing the function of the human brain for us) for the difficulty of the game. They throw a lot of curve balls and it seems like it’s often easy to get three connections, but four requires more brain cells than I have at the moment.
The key word there is “moment.” Because if I’m stymied and walk away, the brain batteries recharge. I come back fresh.
I do this regarding “Connections” on a regular basis when I’m frustrated. When I return to the game 10, 30 or 50 minutes later, I’m refreshed and thinking differently. I’m in a different frame of mind, and solutions often pop up immediately when I click the game back on my phone.
This is not unusual or weird. It makes sense. It’s a classic problem-solving device. Walk away. Don’t think about it. Come back later.
Our brain’s neural pathways lock up. Yours may work better than mine or be more fluid and flexible. But I think all of us face this dilemma to a certain extent.
Let’s say you’re trying to figure out how to put together a piece of furniture from IKEA, for example. You’re not good with directions. You get the legs locked into the base of the chair, but for the life of you, you can’t figure out how to insert the framed pieces to the back. No matter how hard you try, the directions don’t make sense. You event new curse words.
Time to get a cup of coffee. Step outside, breathe some fresh air. Take the dog for a walk and think about the beauty of nature. See if the mail arrived. Ah, okay.
Now, come back. Holy Mackerel, Andy, suddenly the pieces look different. “Hmmm, this fits here and WHOA, this one slides right in. I can’t believe how simple that was.”
You hold the finished chair up for examination. You sit in it. Yeah, that’s it.
Walking away gets you there. There’s something about stepping away from a problem and NOT thinking about it that allows freedom to reapproach it later fresh. You think differently. You’re relaxed. Those are keys to success in many endeavors – approaching something with a new mindset and being relaxed.
High level athletes understand this. You can’t keep hammering away at something in the same way if it’s not working. Try something new. Walk away.
I was thinking about this recently while puzzled by the word game, “Connections.” If you’re unfamiliar with it, you are given 16 words and you must match them in four categories of four based on some component on how they relate to each other. For example, you might have “hammer,” “saw,” “nail,” and “shingle.” The category would be “things needed to repair a roof.”
The challenge in the game is that they give you cross-over words that seem to fit in multiple categories and it’s hard to determine which ones to eliminate and which ones match up. You figure it out through the process of elimination and quantum leaps of intuition and logic (or plain luck when you give up, which I do once or twice a week).
We need to thank AI or the software program (seems to me they are same thing, performing the function of the human brain for us) for the difficulty of the game. They throw a lot of curve balls and it seems like it’s often easy to get three connections, but four requires more brain cells than I have at the moment.
The key word there is “moment.” Because if I’m stymied and walk away, the brain batteries recharge. I come back fresh.
I do this regarding “Connections” on a regular basis when I’m frustrated. When I return to the game 10, 30 or 50 minutes later, I’m refreshed and thinking differently. I’m in a different frame of mind, and solutions often pop up immediately when I click the game back on my phone.
This is not unusual or weird. It makes sense. It’s a classic problem-solving device. Walk away. Don’t think about it. Come back later.
Our brain’s neural pathways lock up. Yours may work better than mine or be more fluid and flexible. But I think all of us face this dilemma to a certain extent.
Let’s say you’re trying to figure out how to put together a piece of furniture from IKEA, for example. You’re not good with directions. You get the legs locked into the base of the chair, but for the life of you, you can’t figure out how to insert the framed pieces to the back. No matter how hard you try, the directions don’t make sense. You event new curse words.
Time to get a cup of coffee. Step outside, breathe some fresh air. Take the dog for a walk and think about the beauty of nature. See if the mail arrived. Ah, okay.
Now, come back. Holy Mackerel, Andy, suddenly the pieces look different. “Hmmm, this fits here and WHOA, this one slides right in. I can’t believe how simple that was.”
You hold the finished chair up for examination. You sit in it. Yeah, that’s it.
Walking away gets you there. There’s something about stepping away from a problem and NOT thinking about it that allows freedom to reapproach it later fresh. You think differently. You’re relaxed. Those are keys to success in many endeavors – approaching something with a new mindset and being relaxed.
High level athletes understand this. You can’t keep hammering away at something in the same way if it’s not working. Try something new. Walk away.