Are you an ‘Elastic’ Thinker?

All of us would have experienced ‘Eureka’ moments at some point in our lives.

These moments may not be as ground-breaking as the ones Archimedes and Sir Isaac Newton did, but they would have resulted in breakthrough solutions to our problems. In order to architect more of these moments and find innovative solutions, we need to hone our Elastic Thinking.

The phrase ‘Elastic Thinking’ was coined by Leonard Mlodinow, the author of ‘Elastic: Flexible Thinking in a Constantly Changing World’. “Elastic thinking” is the name he gives to the way new and creative ideas pop up into the conscious mind in moments of insight. It is contrasted with “analytic thinking”, which is our rule-led, logical, conscious thought.

Leonard says — “Logical analytical thinking is really good when you are trying to solve a problem you’ve seen before. You can use known methods and techniques to approach whatever issue you are dealing with. Elastic thinking is what you need when the circumstances change and you are dealing with something new. It’s not about following rules”.

Logical analytical thinking is a top-down approach where we start with a hypothesis based on past data. Elastic or flexible thinking is a bottom-up approach where we gather seemingly unrelated pieces of information and then work on creating a structure out of these components. Hence, this way, we come up with novel and innovative outputs.

In order to thrive in current times that are characterized by exponential change, we need to hone our Elastic thinking ability. In order to solve problems which were hitherto unencountered, we need to reframe our problem statements and think ‘outside-the-box’ to arrive at innovative solutions.

As Leonard explains, the Prefrontal cortex in our brains acts as a filter. It rules out crazy, silly ideas and only allows tried-and-tested, logical ideas to seep in from your unconscious mind into the conscious mind.

We can relax these filters by changing our environment or taking our mind off the problem. During this ‘incubation’ period, the relaxed filters allow unconventional ideas to seep in, thus resulting in Eureka moments. So, the next time you’re stuck, go take a walk, listen to music or do something creative. Make way for ‘incubation’ and see amazing ideas emerge.

As we face up to an unknown future, the good news is that we can equip our minds to hone our Elastic Thinking prowess. Here are a few ways to do that:

1) Reframe the question
In order to arrive at innovative solutions and gain new perspectives, try reframing the question. Tina Seelig, author of “Insight Out: Get Ideas Out of Your Head and Into the World” suggests ‘Frame-storming’. Frame-storming is brainstorming around the question and reframing it in order to find creative solutions.

2) Question your Assumptions
Flex your thinking by questioning your inherent assumptions. Logical analytical thinking draws upon past data and results in us creating assumptions. However, when we encounter a new situation, we cannot rely on past data and assumptions tend to curtail our thinking. In such instances, leverage Elastic thinking by questioning assumptions and allow unconventional ideas to pop up.

3) Expose yourself to diverse stimuli and diverse perspectives
Open your mind by creating diverse experiences. Travel to new places, meet new people, try different types of art, music and food. This will broaden your range of perspectives and seed new ideas.

4) Get comfortable with discomfort
Move out of your comfort zone. Take risks and learn to embrace failure as a part of life. Move away from tried-and-tested methods and try something new. Question long-held beliefs and embrace change.

5) Take a break
When your mind is over-worked, take a break. Learn to relax and give your mind the space to incubate new ideas. And when radical ideas emerge, don’t dismiss them. Give the ideas a change, give them due consideration and you may hit upon a breakthrough solution.

Face up to the future with a combination of analytical thinking and elastic thinking. Most of us have perfected the logical part of our thought process. Its time to focus on the creative side, since new challenges require novel solutions and elastic thinking will help us get there.