How To Solve Your Problems Through Free Writing

Problem solving is a critical life skill. Life when broken down can essentially be seen as a series of problems that a man must rise to and conquer or be crushed by. Of course there is more to life than that but you get my point. Knowing different ways at which you can attack and break down a problem is incredibly important. It could be a problem with business, relationships, or just the best way to set up your library. Some matter more than others but they all require the same basic function.

Problem solving is a mental activity obviously. Hence it requires the use of our mind. Our conscious mind is able to solve many problems usually simple ones or ones we are familiar with. However when we hit something that we are unfamiliar with or that is a complex and intense problem our conscious mind simply isn’t usually going to be up to the task. There are going to be many times in life when you are going to run up against a problem that you can’t solve at first. When you run into these you need to have skills you can rely on to solve seemingly impossible or hard problems.

Free Writing

To solve problems such as these you have to rely on the use of your subconscious mind. When most people are faced with a problem they have no knowledge of how to deal with they either ball up, cry, or swing wildly doing more harm than good. Instead of reacting in such foolish ways it is much better to rely on something that can answer any problem that this world can throw at us. I’ve written about ways to do this before but it always helps to have multiple ways to get a job done.

Free writing is where you just write without thinking (well to an extent). It writing without editing, without going back, without conscious thinking. You just let your thoughts spill out on the page uninhibited. Many will sounds weird, cheesy, or a myriad of other things this is fine you are literally dumping your mind and heart onto the page. You are going to do a uninterrupted mind dump. Usually a timer is set say ten minutes are you are required to keep writing for that time (most would probably be better off starting with five) even if you just keep writing “I don’t know what to write” just keep going. That is free writing and when used properly it can be incredibly effective at helping you solve problems.

How To Use Free Writing Properly

So now that we know what free writing is how do we use it to solve our problems? A great question. Now the solution is not to sit down and randomly start writing then walk away wondering why great and amazing insights didn’t come to you. No it must be used properly and in a sequence to take full advantage of the awesome power of your subconscious mind. Which can solve any problem that you have relationship, business, or otherwise.

Step 1 – Write Out The Problem

The first step is similar you write out what the problem is. “How can I find a marketing strategy that will put me in the top ten percent of my niche?” or whatever. Just state it as best as you can don’t worry if you don’t have it exact your subconscious just needs the gist and can get the whole thing from that. Never underestimate the power of your mind. So now you have the problem stated.

Step 2 – Write Everything You Know About The Problem

What you have tried, what you know about it, the emotions you feel towards it, just get everything out and onto paper. This is the free writing part of the process. Think of the problem being stated as the title and the free writing as the book. Set a timer for five or ten minutes and just go. Do not think. Just write. This is critical to the process working. Just write, write, write.

Step 3 – Let It Cook

Now you’ve gotten it all written down step away from it. The best time to do this is in the morning that way you have all day at work to let it cook or at night before going to bed that way you have all night to let it cook. The point is you need to give it some space and time to be worth anything to you. Despite your subconscious great power it does need time to peculate.

Step 4 – Look Over What You Have Written

After sufficient time has passed now you are going to look back over what it is that you have written. Let it sink in. Look its going to look foolish. You could be Tesla and it would look like an emotional five year old. That’s fine. Don’t worry about it you’re the only one who is going to see it anyways. Look over it and let it sink in for about five minutes.

Step 5 – Begin Writing Again

Now you are going to write again but this time not free writing but to address the problem stated at the beginning. Imagine you just got a letter from someone you care about asking you that question and now you are writing them an answer. Just write out what you think the answer is and something will begin to take form. Keep at it and you’ll find you often have found the solution to your problem or at the very least the direction in which you should head.

Summary

I cannot overemphasize how important having problem solving skills is and knowing how to use your mind to solve them is. We have been given an amazing gift with our mind. It is able to solve anything that is throw at us if we know how to use it properly. Like they say mindset is everything. The man with every advantage but the wrong mindset will not go anywhere no matter how much he is given. Likewise the man with every disadvantage and the right mindset will soar and nothing can stop him. Nothing.

If you want to learn how to harness this power I would strongly suggest picking up my book Mind Is The Master, you’re going to love it.

If you have any questions you would like to see answered in a future post send them to me at charlessledge001 (at) gmail (dot) com. If you found value in this post then I would encourage you to share this site with someone who may need it as well as check out my books here. I appreciate it. You can follow me on Twitter here.

-Charles Sledge

Charles Sledge