4 Mindset Practices to Help You Make Better Decisions

Change Your Life to Manage Your Brain’s Energy Budget

Making decisions can be quite challenging. When we are trying to decide what to eat for dinner, or if we should get married, it helps when our thoughts are clear. Yet, such clarity is often elusive. Either we settle for whatever first comes to mind or we hastily choose an option because we are running out of time. In the case of dinner, we may rely on our usual go-tos: pizza, tacos, rotisserie chicken or whatever meets our eyes at the local supermarket. And in the relationship scenario, depending on what we choose, we may either be knee deep in diapers, debt, and drool, or left feeling destitute, disillusioned and down in the dumps. Often, we try to cope with such decisions by rationalizing them and trying to see the good in our choices. But a life led on autopilot can quickly become a slippery slope of foggy regrets and unconscious self-sabotage.

How then, can we have clearer minds? And is this even possible? That’s the question that religious scholar Houston Smith asked the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti in 1968, but he received a somewhat perplexing answer. Krishnamurti, known for his utter clarity of mind himself, explained that it is in fact possible to achieve complete lucidity. Yet, he added, one could not do this by following anyone else’s methods. Such clarity of thought requires complete freedom from authority.

This paradox was frustrating to Smith, to say the least. After all, he wanted Krishnamurti to tell him how to achieve complete lucidity. But Krishnamurti was insistent that there were no generic methods when it came to the important questions in life. We’ve got to dig deep within ourselves to find what works for us.

Of course, in simple matters like using a computer or trying to find a store, following instructions can be very helpful indeed. Yet, when it comes to the big questions — how to achieve happiness — how to achieve a sense of purpose — how to succeed at the highest level with one’s work — the answers are far more complex, and following instructions would be akin to following instructions to an orgasm. It’s too mechanical and it just doesn’t work.

To be free from authority implies that one has integrated the opinions of others and come up with a solution that reflects a deep connection with one’s self. When you follow someone else’s methods, you never feel like you are leading your life. If it is happiness or a sense of purpose that you seek, you need to adjust your mindset to find the answers within. The four practices below will get you off to a good start.

Find inspiration: When you look within, you may at first be disillusioned to find nothing of material significance. But don’t lose heart. It takes time for ideas to dislodge themselves and make themselves available. You may need to find some inspiration to get a jumpstart. And as I explain in my book, Tinker, Dabble, Doodle, Try, inspiration has a three-part architecture that you can rely on.

First, find an image or song that you find beautiful. Keep a library called “My aesthetic library” so that you always have these files available if you need them. Then, after you look at it for a while, go for a walk and allow your mind to wander. Following the walk, sit down to see what actions your brain has decided on while you were daydreaming. Repeat this every day.

Accept your contradictions: You may also be spooked by the contradictions that are within you — how you love your children, but hate your life that is taken up by them; how you feel both content but restless at the same time; how you are happy on the outside, but also sad and lonely on the inside. You don’t have to choose between these opposites. Its best if you let your mind find a way to bring these ideas together. There is a new and more integrated you that is waiting to find its power.

Each week, write out two things that seems to be in conflict about yourself. Then ponder how you might be both of these things at the same time, or each at different times.

Use the mentality of a child learning to walk: A child who is learning to walk may fall down several times, but not walking is not an option. Children will keep trying until they master walking.

Similar to a determined toddler, hold onto what you need to, but find your deepest determination in the same way that a child will try his or her hardest to get to the upright position. Recognize that we don’t generally do this because we don’t have the energy or motivation. We must build this energy by building downtimes into our days. Manage your energy and not just your time.

Reset your brain by pausing frequently: Your brain is not built to run on empty. Like a car, it needs fuel too. And unfocus circuits in your brain need to be activated to help your focus circuits replenish their energy — these circuits both work together in your brain. Without this rest, you may be filled with answers, but without collecting your thoughts, they will be unavailable and ineffective.

To be sure, there are other things that you will need to clarify your thoughts as well. But these four mechanisms: inspiration, acceptance of your paradoxes, striving for you deepest determination and frequent brain resets will allow you to dig deep while conserving your brain’s resources at the same time. That’s what will clear your thoughts. And its how you will get doubt out of your way to reach your goals too.

To learn more about techniques that will help you manage your energy, get a copy of my new book “ Tinker, Dabble, Doodle, Try: Unlock the Power of the Unfocused Mind ” (Ballantine Books, 2017) — voted one of 50 best books for the beach this summer by Coastal Living.

4 Mindset Practices to Help You Make Better Decisions was originally published in MAQTOOB For Entrepreneurs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.