Intuitive Mind; Logical Mind

Intuitive, creative solutions – it seems we all prize them! Have you ever been stuck – really stuck – to pluck a creative solution from among your everyday thoughts and frustrations?

Imagine you’ve just asked yourself a really important question:

• What do I get that special someone for Christmas?
• How can I dramatically increase my income in the next 6 months?
• How can I keep my tomatoes alive if the temp dips below freezing tonight?
• What’s in the way of healing my back pain?

When you’re stuck for a creative solution, then you’ll want to tap into your intuitive mind. Your mind provides ready access to both intuitive and logical thinking. They’re very different, and they’re both extremely useful.

Logical thinking is great when you’re trying to balance your checkbook or remember how to defrag your C: drive. But it’s a terrible hindrance when it comes to problem-solving!

The logical mind is prized, even revered, in our culture. It helps us remember important facts, conduct practical reasoning exercises, and work everyday math problems.

• Let’s say you want to figure out whether that investment you’re considering is really such a great deal. Logical mind.
• Or to determine which of the delightful kindergarteners in your morning class is responsible for the latest round of mischief. Logical mind.
• Or to work out the specs for building a season-extending cold frame for your garden. Logical mind again.

But when it comes to finding a creative solution, your logical mind will more often than not attempt to talk you out of the very solution you’re racking your brain to find! How frustrating is that?

Here’s the kind of logical-mind chatter that may keep you stuck:

• It would be too expensive.
• It sounds like too much work.
• I’m not comfortable taking that step.
• It’s just not reasonable!

To find a creative solution, sometimes you need to pull out every trick in the book to get your intuitive mind firing. Just for a bit of irony, consider this. Once the best course of action does become clear, don’t be surprised if the solution that works best is something your logical mind has already rejected.

Now I’m not suggesting that you should accept a solution just because it sounds odd. That would be foolish!

What I do suggest is this. As you begin to assemble a list of possible solutions for one of the really perplexing problems we all face from time to time, temporarily let go of logical thinking. Give your intuitive mind the freedom to take over. Be willing to consider any idea that enters your mind during this creative phase.

Then, once you have a nice list of possible ideas, don’t be too quick to invite your logical mind back. Sleep on it. Do something else for a while.

Then, and only then, gingerly let logic take a peek. Check yourself objectively before you act.

• Would that great gift you thought of break the bank?
• Is the terrific income-enhancing idea legal?

Your logical, rational side does have its purpose. One thing it does really well is protect you from taking impulsive actions that could harm you or compromise your goals.

Give logic and reason their day. Listen when they talk. But don’t let them talk you out of the very solution you’re looking for!