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How To Think Effectively: 12 Powerful Techniques

How To Think Effectively: 12 Powerful Techniques

Effective thinking is something that can be practiced and developed over time. Everything begins and ends with the brain-heart connection. How you think either connects or disconnects the two.

Here are 12 ways to think effectively that you never thought could be so easy.

1. Identify and Reverse Negative Core Beliefs

“I’m not good enough.” “I don’t deserve this.” We’re all influenced by our past experiences and when we attach negative labels to them, we subconsciously bring them into our present reality.

Think effectively by reversing the negative into a positive and letting that play repeatedly in your thoughts.

2. Powerful Words Trigger Powerful Thinking

“I’m going to try this.” Where’s the power in this statement? Reword it. “I’m going to master this technique and gain customers.”

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Use powerful words that set you up for success in your thinking. Merely ‘trying’ something isn’t motivating. ‘Mastering’ something is very motivating. Think effectively—and powerfully. Powerful thinking promotes powerful action.

3. When It All Comes Down to It, You Are What You Think

So if you think you’re a failure, you don’t deserve success or happiness, or you’re not good enough, your subconscious mind is going to steer you in the direction of what you’re thinking.

To think effectively, you have to think in ways that steer you toward success.

4. When Failure or Crisis Ensues, Always Think, “What Is the Lesson Here?”

Remember, everything begins and ends with the brain-heart connection. Find a valuable lesson that you can profit or benefit from in every traumatic event. That way, when you look back on the situation, you view it as a learning experience, not a traumatic, negative event. Try to find happiness in everything.

5. When You Stop a Project to Think About It, Make Sure You Start It Again

So many great ideas are abandoned because of hesitance or procrastination. When you find yourself at a standstill in the middle of a project and you’re hesitating, go back to point #1. Find the belief that’s stalling you, reverse it, add some power words and dive right back in.

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6. Thinking Too Much Promotes Stagnation

So think like this: Thought…Idea…Vision…Action. Take your thoughts and form an idea. Really visualize the entire idea coming to fruition in your mind. Now, take the steps to make that idea happen.

7. You Can’t Want Something and Have It at the Same Time

A very valuable money coach taught me this concept and when I realized it, I became unstuck. When you’re so busy wanting something, all of your thought processes encompass that desire, that longing. You find yourself saying something like, “I have no idea how, but I have to have that.”

Instead, go to point #6. Take that want, turn it into an idea, envision it clearly and take action to get there. Changing your focus to the status of ‘having’ psychologically triggers the mind to take the necessary steps to get it, instead of remaining in a state of envy.

8. Use Psychological Triggers to Keep Your Brain and Your Heart on the Same Wavelength

For example, in your heart, you know you need to set up a budget. But your brain is saying, “It’s useless, you’ll always be broke.” Don’t give in…reverse your brain’s thought.

Think about how much less stress you’ll have when you know exactly how much you have to spend and where to spend it. This aligns your brain and your heart and motivates you to set up a budget and stick to it. The psychological trigger is less stress.

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9. Before Becoming Hurt or Offended by a Friend’s Actions or Words, Look at Their Heart

Generally, by looking at someone’s heart, you gain a deeper understanding as to their reaction. The result is that it brings forgiveness much more easily and saves your energy for creativity instead of anger and resentment.

10. Check Your Motives

Before you speak or act, make sure what you’re thinking is your opinion and not your friend’s/boss’s/partner’s etc. When you’re thinking, make sure they’re your true, unbiased thoughts and that you’re not seeking approval or being influenced by others.

11. Don’t Bury Icky Thoughts

When you catch yourself pushing an uncomfortable thought or feeling away…don’t. Even if it has a negative emotion attached to it. Let it come all the way up to the surface. Sit in it for a few minutes and truly feel the emotion. Feel it, face it…and let it go.

Don’t suppress icky feelings, because they always rear their ugly head in moments of stress and cause you to act and do things that you’ll regret later.

12. Focus on Right Now…This Very Moment

Not yesterday, not tomorrow. Just right now. It’s all you have…it’s all that matters.

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This way, your actions in the present moment aren’t as likely to be dictated by past experiences. This is the most powerful tool to help you to think effectively.

Learn How to Live in the Moment and Stop Worrying.

The Bottom Line

By practicing these simple techniques every single day, you will master effective thinking and soon see improvements in your work, your creativity and your relationships. Remember, it’s all about aligning the brain and the heart so they don’t contradict each other.

More Tips to Boost Your Brain Power

Featured photo credit: JessicaGale via mrg.bz

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Lynn Silva

Lynn Silva helps solo and entrepreneurs develop mental skills for business.

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Last Updated on May 7, 2021

Productivity Boost: How to start your day at 5:00 AM

Productivity Boost: How to start your day at 5:00 AM

I have been an early-riser for over a year now. Monday through Friday I wake up at 5:00 AM without hitting the snooze button even once. I never take naps and rarely feel tired throughout the day. The following is my advice on how to start your day (everyday) at 5:00 AM.The idea of waking up early and starting the day at or before the sunrise is the desire of many people. Many highly successful people attribute their success, at least in part, to rising early. Early-risers have more productive mornings, get more done, and report less stress on average than “late-risers.” However, for the unaccustomed, the task of waking up at 5:00 AM can seem extremely daunting. This article will present five tips about how to physically wake up at 5:00 AM and how to get yourself mentally ready to have a productive day.

Many people simply “can’t” get up early because they are stuck in a routine. Whether this is getting to bed unnecessarily late, snoozing repetitively, or waiting until the absolute last possible moment before getting out of bed, “sleeping in” can easily consume your entire morning. The following tips will let you break the “sleeping in” routine.

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Relocate your alarm clock.

Having an alarm clock too close to your bed is the number one reason people simply cannot get up in the morning. If your alarm clock is within arms reach of your bed, or if you can turn your alarm clock off without getting out of bed, you are creating an unnecessarily difficult situation for yourself. Before I became an early-riser, there were many times that I would turn off my alarm without even waking up enough to remember turning it off. I recommend moving your alarm clock far enough away from your bed that you have to get completely out of bed to turn it off. I keep my alarm clock in the bathroom. This may not be possible for all living arrangements, however, I use my cellphone as an alarm clock and putting it in the bathroom makes perfect sense. In order to turn off my alarm I have to get completely out of bed, and since going to the restroom and taking a shower are the first two things I do everyday, keeping the alarm clock in the bathroom streamlines the start of my morning.

Scrap the snooze.

The snooze feature on all modern alarm clocks serves absolutely no constructive purpose. Don’t even try the “it helps me slowly wake up” lie. I recommend buying an alarm that does not have a snooze button. If you can’t find an alarm without a snooze button, never read the instructions so you will never know how long your snooze button lasts. Not knowing whether it waits 10 minutes or 60 minutes should be enough of a deterrent to get you to stop using it.

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Change up your buzzer

If you use the same buzzer day in and day out, you begin to develop a tolerance to the sound. The alarm clock will slowly become less effective at waking you up over time. Most newer alarm clocks will let you set a different buzzer tone for the different days of the week. If you change your buzzer frequently, you will have an easier time waking up.

Make a puzzle

If you absolutely cannot wake up without repetitive snoozing, try making a puzzle for yourself. It doesn’t take rocket science to understand that the longer your alarm is going off, the more awake you will become. Try making your alarm very difficult to turn off by putting it under the sink, putting it under the bed, or better yet, by forcing yourself to complete a puzzle to turn it off. Try putting your alarm into a combination-locked box and make yourself put in the combination in order to turn off the alarm — it’s annoying, but extremely effective!

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Get into a routine

Getting up at 5:00 AM is much easier if you are doing it Monday through Friday rather than sporadically during the week. I recommend setting an alarm once that repeats everyday. Also, going to bed at about the same time every night is an important factor to having a productive morning. Learn how much sleep you need to get in order to not feel exhausted the following day. Some people can get by on 4-6 hours while most need 7-8.

Have a reason

Make sure you have a specific reason to get up in the morning. Getting up at 5:00 AM just for the heck of it is a lot more difficult than if you are getting up early to plan your day, pay bills, go for a jog, get an early start on work, etc. I recommend finding something you want to do for yourself in the morning. It will be a lot easier to get up if you are guaranteed to do something fun for yourself — compare this to going on vacation. You probably have no problem waking up very early on vacation or during holidays. My goal every morning is to bring that excitement to the day by doing something fun for myself.

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As I previously mentioned, I have been using these tips for a very long time. Joining the world of early-risers has been a great decision. I feel less stressed, I get more done, and I feel happier than I did when I was a late-riser. If you follow these tips you can become an early-riser, too. Do you have any tips that I didn’t mention? What works best for you? Let us know in the comments.

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