#ThinkfullyHabit: Treasure it
We underestimate how much we enjoy spending time alone with our own thoughts, without distraction. We think we’d prefer to keep busy, rather than take the time to stop and think, but in reality it’s not the case. We incorrectly think we won’t enjoy doing nothing, but when given the chance, it's far more positive than we expect.
“Individuals have difficulty appreciating just how engaging thinking can be.”
WHY?
Psychologists tasked people to predict how much they would enjoy sitting alone waiting, with nothing to do, for 20 minutes. Afterwards, they were asked about their actual experiences of doing so. They found that people actually enjoyed spending time with their thoughts significantly more than they expected to. The results were replicated in different types of environments and for different amounts of time, both across Japan and the UK. In all situations, researchers found that we consistently underestimate how gratifying the experience of immersing ourselves in our own thinking can be.
As Aya Hatono, the lead researcher of the study observes, "Humans have a striking ability to immerse themselves in their own thinking." Yet, our misperceptions over how we experience spending time alone with our thoughts explains why, often wrongly, we would rather occupy our minds with things like news feeds and live updates. Perhaps it is because we are so bad at predicting what it is like to spend time just thinking, it explains why we avoid doing so in favour of other activities. These missed opportunities come at a cost - studies show that free flowing thinking without the distraction of tasks or activities is beneficial for enhanced learning, psychological wellbeing, problem solving, creativity and relieving negative emotions. If we avoid time spent just thinking, with nothing else to do, we also forego the benefits that follow.
It's time to raise our thinking expectations.
REFERENCES
Hatano A, Ogulmus C, Shigemasu H, Murayama K. Thinking about thinking: people underestimate how enjoyable and engaging just waiting is. J. Exp. Psychol. Gen. 2022:17.
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