3. Put Your Subconscious Mind to Work

Have you ever had a “Eureka” moment, when the solution to a problem you’ve been thinking about for days just pops into your mind seemingly at random when you’re thinking about something else entirely? The word “Eureka” dates pack to Archimedes who, allegedly, came to his understanding of volumes in a flash of insight while in the bath. When you do have a Eureka moment, the solution that comes into your mind hasn’t just magically materialized in that instant. It’s been supplied by your subconscious mind, which has actually been working on the problem for a while.

The subconscious mind is far more expansive than the conscious mind. We discuss this in relation to learning in Understanding Your Brain. Frequently, our subconscious mind is able to find angles on problems that our conscious mind cannot. This is why when faced with a tough decision, it's always smart to “sleep on it”. Sleep gives the subconscious mind a chance to really weigh the pros and cons, and, when we wake, we often find that we have a much clearer sense of what to do.

You can put the problem solving capacity of your subconscious to work for you. If you’ve got a tough problem to solve, take twenty minutes before bed, and really think about the problem. Don’t think about trying to solve it – just outline the problem in detail in your mind. Right before you go to sleep, will yourself to find a solution. Einstein used to do this all of the time to good effect. Frequently, you’ll find that you see the problem in a new light a day or two later.