Thinking in terms of tools

Introduction

As an avid learner and researcher to make the world a better place, I ended up (so far) with a general approach for conceptualizing in a “useful” way.

I refer to this approach as:

Thinking in terms of tools

In this article, I want to share what I mean by that and what advantages/disadvantages it brings for me.

Explanation

Things I class as tools:

• Conventional: a screwdriver, a monkey wrench, all that stuff…
• More complex but still conventional: a computer, a smartphone, an application…
• Less conventional: the mind, a habit, a principle…

Advantages

The advantage of thinking in terms of tools is that it makes you consider a thing (may be a physical or a conceptual one) in regards to what it can do, what it can’t, its advantages and disadvantages.

In fact, evaluating advantages and disadvantages implies to have a goal in mind.

That’s what makes this approach interesting.

When you use a saw, I assume it’s for cutting some kind of material.

And because without a saw it would be far more tedious, you decide to use that tool.

It saves time and energy.

In that example, the kind of goal you try to achieve when using a saw is pretty clear.

But that’s not always the case, especially for things that we don’t consider as tools at first sight, like the ones I listed in the “Less conventional” section.

And that’s where the approach shines, because it questions you about what drives you when you’re unaware of it.

Thinking in terms of tools for habits

Let’s take the example of an habit. If you start considering habits as tools, your inner dialog must look like this:

Ok. What do I want to do/become/achieve with that habit ?

Well, I want this and that…

(First benefit: Your goal is now clear. You’re no longer ignoring what drives you.)

Is that habit useful for getting what I want ?

Humm… I like that aspect of the habit but this other aspect is clearly inefficient. I could do this and that to get what I want more quickly…

(Second benefit: You become conscious about how the habit influence your life and evaluate its advantages/disadvantages regarding what you want.)

Should I keep this habit ? If no, what do I do to loose it ? If yes, can I tweak it a little bit to make it even better ?

(Third benefit: You plan to act in a better way.)

Now, and that’s the most difficult part, you have to actually do what you planned!

Going further, you certainly will discover that your plan was not that ideal.

So change it! Adapt!

Don’t expect your plan to be perfect. You should instead consider it like a rough draft with the sole purpose to make things clearer and guide you at least for the beginning, exactly like in school when you make a draft before actually writing the dissertation.

You wouldn’t consider giving your draft to the professor at the end of the test right ?

So why would you consider using your initial plan to face the challenges of life ?

Going back to the benefits of the approach, it prevents, prior to all of that, that you act/think “unconsciously” for important things in your life.

Because your habits, what you think, your principles, your opinions have a real impact on your life and on people around you.

So these are things you must not want chance and determinism decide for you.

Thinking in terms of tools for the mind

Recently, I applied this approach to thinking.

That is, I try to consider my thoughts as tools helping me understand what I want/don’t want, helping me planning/prepare for a plausible future, or at the opposite, reflect on the past, questioning myself…

That has been very beneficial (and there’s clearly room for improvements, which is really promising) because it helps me detach from my thoughts. I find it easier to no longer identify to them.

I notice the thought and whatever its content is. Then I just say to myself:

Remember, that’s merely a thought that comes and goes.

Is it useful for you right now ?

If yes, cool! Maybe go deeper.

If no, there’s no need to give it more of your attention.

Thoughts are a bit like videos in your Youtube feed. If the video doesn’t seem interesting, you just don’t watch it and scroll down to the next.

You may be familiar with this way of considering thinking if you’re meditating.

And if you’re not meditating, please give it a try for at least 1 month.

You may be really surprised (in the good sense).

I think that considering thoughts as tools helps me in my meditation practice but also in life in general.

I feel that I have more perspective on things and thus, I’m less emotionally reactive which helps me act in a more rational way.

For sure there are moments when thinking too much or being too “rational” (with the negative connotation) can be harmful.

For example when it’s a question of feelings towards people you love, or when a surprising event directly threats your life and you need to rely on your unconscious brain to react as fast as possible.

Disadvantages

At the end of the day, we’re always conceptualizing with this approach, thus reducing the reality to some of its aspects.

May that way of thinking be too much “goal oriented”.

Enjoying life in the present is as/more important than struggling to achieve a specific end goal.

But I would argue that enjoying life is a kind of goal in some sense, but a goal that spans over time.

Conclusion

I guess that’s it for this post.

I hope it made you discover new perspectives of thinking that may help you in your life.

On that, have a good day!