When I was a kid, it was possible to avoid thinking too much if that’s what you wanted. I knew people who had the radio or TV playing all the time and never allowed there to be any silence.
Of course, now it’s even easier. You have all the distraction you could want in the palm of your hand and a literally endless supply of videos, memes, or music available at any time.
Constantly distracting yourself puts you into a state of receiving input without taking the time to process what’s coming in. There is no time to integrate new information or verify its validity, so at best you end up with an unorganized mess in your mind that can’t be trusted for accuracy. More likely you don’t really take much in at all (except for ideas that reinforce what you already think you know), and you stop improving.
Walking is my primary way to create time to think. There’s something about the physical activity of walking that reliably activates my brain. Just leave the music and headphones at home. I’ve also found that driving is a good time to think if I can remember to turn the radio off.
I just let my mind wander, and it automatically sorts though the stuff I’ve been hearing and seeing and pulls out anything interesting. I just need to give it a little time and little silence for it to work.
