Pick activities that are vastly different from one another. If you’re already an outdoor enthusiast, instead of taking up hiking consider learning to crochet. If you’re big into crafts and working with your hands, consider trying to do crossword puzzles or Sudoku in your spare time. Take classes if possible. Taking a pottery class or poetry class at a local community center can be a fun way to challenge your brain and encourage you to try new things.
Writing is an active endeavor. It forces you to expand and explore your thoughts. Keeping a journal that details your day, your feelings, and anything you thought about throughout the day can make you a more introspective, aware person. [4] X Trustworthy Source University of Rochester Medical Center Leading academic medical center in the U. S. focused on clinical care and research Go to source This can lead to higher reasoning skills. Make time to journal every day. Schedule regular journaling time into your day-to-day life as you would brushing your teeth, showering, and eating dinner. It may be helpful to schedule journal time after an activity you’re accustom to doing every day, as this will make it easier to remember to keep up with your journal.
Fiction can force you to become more insightful about other perspectives due to the focus on character. This can make you more in tune to the cultures, belief systems, and skill sets of those around you. You may be better at, say, reasoning with those around you as you’ll have a greater capacity for empathy. Black and white thinking is also lessened through reading fiction. People who read fiction over time may have more sophisticated thought patterns as they’re able to navigate and accept the ambiguity in a variety of situations.
Look for board games that rely on more than just look. Explore in depth strategy games where decision making is a key part of the process. Schedule a regular game night with friends and aim to play games that require thought and attention. Clue and Risk require critical thought. Games like Scrabble and Boggle teach you to analyze information quickly. [7] X Research source Chess and checkers all require reasoning skills. Consider joining or starting a chess club. [8] X Research source Consider games you can play on your own. You can play certain card games alone online. Purchase a Rubik’s Cube and spend time trying to solve it. [9] X Research source
Focus on larger goals at work or school. Where do you want to be in five years? Two years? One year? How are you current actions serving this goal? Do your actions make sense reasonably given your larger purpose? Answering these questions can help you improve your reasoning skills. [11] X Research source Try to make sure your actions are actually serving some purpose. [12] X Expert Source Erin Conlon, PCC, JDExecutive Life Coach Expert Interview. 31 August 2021. Oftentimes, people get caught up in the idea something has to be done in a particular way or they have to follow a particular path. Actions then become unreasonable. Try to keep the end in mind when you take a certain action. [13] X Research source
A major bias is that people often only consider a situation or a problem from one point of view. When dealing with an issue at work, school, or home pause and ask yourself a few questions before taking action. Ask, “What do I believe about the situation? Why do I believe this? What assumptions might I be making about the thoughts and ideas of others?"[15] X Research source It’s important to take steps to be self-aware of your own biases. This can help you avoid having those biases obstruct your judgment. [16] X Research source It may even be helpful to ask a close friend about your gaps in thinking. Approach a friend with a question like, “What are some ways I sometimes behave irrationally?” Ask for honesty and openness.
Use your imagination. Before making a choice in a given situation, pause to imagine a variety of possible outcomes. How do you feel about these outcomes? What’s the worst case scenario? Best case scenario? What is reasonably most likely to happen? Why?[17] X Research source Also, do not neglect to consider the viewpoints of others affected by your decision. This can help you explore your decision through a variety of angles. [18] X Research source
Over-generalizations are taking one particular event and seeing it as evidence of how things have always been or always will be. For example, if you do bad on one test you may think, “I’m stupid and always fail at school. " In making this statement, you’re glossing other academic success you have had in the past in the light of one event. [19] X Research source All-or-nothing thinking is a form of generalizing where you see things in black and white terms. All-or-nothing thinking places things in only one or two categories: good or bad, success or failure, etc. This results in missing the shades of gray in a situation. For example, if you get a mixed review of your performance at work you may see yourself as a failure. In reality, you’re likely a competent worker with some areas that need improvement. [20] X Research source Filtering out positive is a thought pattern in which too much focus is placed on the bad aspects of a situation. If 20 good things happen in a day followed by 1 bad thing, you may focus entirely on the negative. For example, say you make a single mistake during a musical performance but otherwise play perfectly. You might be tempted to declare the performance a disaster. In reality, you are probably the only person who noticed a single wrong note. [21] X Research source
Sometimes, people engage in mind-reading. That is, you make assumptions about what others think of your or a situation. In reality, it’s impossible to know what another person is thinking without asking. For example, you may find yourself thinking “I bet everyone thought I was an idiot in that meeting” or “I bet that co-worker thinks I talk too much. " If you notice yourself engaging in such thoughts, try to remind yourself that you are probably not as good at reading people’s opinions as you think you are. [22] X Research source Fortune telling is a form of thinking where you think you know what will happen in the future. This can be in the form of a defeatist attitude. For example, “I’ll never be able to stick to a diet and lose weight” or “I know I’m going to sound like an idiot during my presentation tomorrow. " Keep in mind that, in reality, you cannot know what will happen tomorrow or in the coming weeks. [23] X Research source
Labeling is the tendency to put a name on a situation. For example, “This person made a mistake” or “I made a bad choice. " This leads you to put people and situations into categories based on solitary instances. Try your best not to categorize and avoid the temptation to judge. [26] X Research source Personalization is the tendency to take situations and other people’s reactions personally. For example, you may assume a co-worker is mad at you if she doesn’t stop to chat in the break room. In reality, she may just be busy. Try not to take situations personally. [27] X Research source Oftentimes, you hold yourself to an unreal ideal. You might see someone else’s success as evidence of your shortcoming. Try to keep in mind everyone is different and moves at a different pace. [28] X Research source
