(click here to read a summary of this post)

 

Albert Einstein is arguably the most famous genius in history – most widely known for developing his theory of relativity.

When you think of Einstein, you picture blackboards with crazy logarithms and formulas scribbled furiously in chalk.

But did you know that Albert Einstein was never gifted in math?

In the book ‘Sparks of Genius’, authors Robert & Michele Root-Bernstein revealed that compared to his fellow mathematicians – Einstein was relatively weak in math.

In order to prove many of his theories, Einstein enlisted the help of other mathematicians to assist him with the painstaking calculations.

He was even quoted for saying to someone in a letter: “Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater.”

In fact, his true brilliance was not his logic… but his imagination.

You see, a big factor to what made Einstein a genius was that he intuitively knew how the brain worked.

Our brains are incredibly powerful – more powerful than any supercomputer we have in existence today.

Our capacity to dream of solutions purely from our imagination and turn them into reality distinguishes us from any other animal in the universe.

Think of your mind like a highly productive beehive.

Your mind has two segments: the conscious and the subconscious. Likewise, in this beehive, there are two classes – the Queen Bee and the worker bees.

Your conscious mind is the Queen Bee – she runs the show.

She rules over all the worker bees, makes all the decisions and orders them to perform tasks.

Your subconscious mind is the thousands of worker bees who obediently receive orders from the Queen Bee and later, set out to execute them in the best way possible.

Despite running a dictatorship, the Queen Bee never tries to interfere with the worker bees.

She doesn’t tell them how to perform their duties.

She doesn’t need to repeat herself, nor does she need to push them to work harder.

She has complete trust in them – knowing that eventually, they’ll figure out for themselves how to get the jobs done in the most effective and efficient way possible.

Likewise, the worker bees never revolt against their Queen.

They speak only one word: ‘Yes’. Whatever the Queen commands, they perform.

No questions asked.

If the Queen changes her mind and hands out new orders, they receive them willingly.

They are never micromanaged.

They adapt and adjust accordingly, working independently, in teams or even large swarms, to bring results.

Sometimes the problems are simple and quick to fix. Sometimes the problems are complex and time-consuming.

But the worker bees never groan, whine or complain.

They figure it out as they go along… and eventually get the job done.

This is how our brains work.

Our subconscious mind has this powerful autopilot function – one that works continuously even when we’re not paying attention to the problem at hand.

The issue is, we tend to think that to solve difficult problems, we need to dwell on the problem for a prolonged period of time and wrack our brains until we squeeze one or two good ideas out.

But the opposite is true.

The best solutions come not from constantly thinking about a problem – but rather through a sense of trust and detachment that the solution will arise after we have already defined the goal.

Einstein And His Worker Bees

For Einstein, his thought process for proving theoretical ideas was simple.

If he wanted to prove a theory, he would first act as if that theory was already a factual conclusion.

He didn’t care about how ‘realistic’ or ‘reasonable’ the idea was.

He didn’t concern himself with figuring out ‘how’ the theory would be proven.

Instead, he would turn to his subconscious mind – or his worker bees – to solve problems for him while he occupies himself with other things like learning, relaxing or experimenting.

The truth is – Einstein was a better target-setter than he was a thinker.

His greatest accomplishments are evidence of how much he trusts his imagination over his own memory and knowledge.

The great thing is, we all have the same capacity to imagine and solve problems just like Einstein… if we are willing to trust our subconscious mind.

My favourite Einstein quote of all time is “Imagination is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”

I don’t claim to be Einstein, but there’s a method to his madness – and it works.

How to Think and Solve Problems Like Einstein

Step 1: Clearly define the problem.

Identify the problem and define it clearly.

This is the part where your Queen Bee states exactly what she wants.

As much as possible, be specific about how much time you have, what data you need and any relevant details.

Step 2: Act as if your problem is already solved.

This is where we take notes from the genius himself.

After you’ve clearly defined the problem, imagine that you already have the solution.

Visualize clearly what solving the problem would look like.

What do you want to see in your ‘end game’?

Suspend all doubt and judgement about whether or not the problem can be solved at the current moment. Your job is not to figure out the ‘how’, but only the ‘what’.

Step 3: Trust and allow the solution to arise in time. 

This is the part where you ‘surrender’ the problem to your worker bees, and let them figure out the problem on their own.

Don’t fixate yourself on the problem.

Let it go, chill out and go do other things.

I’d highly recommend reading articles and books around the subject, watching videos, free writing or just taking a break.

In the meantime, allow your subconscious mind to absorb data from sources you’d never expect in order to solve the problem.

Let the problem play in screensaver mode at the back of your mind, while you occupy yourself with other things.

The more you try to grapple with the problem yourself, the more you tend to interfere with your subconscious mind.

Give it time. Let your worker bees work their magic!

You’ll find that the answers will come to you in unexpected times… like a flash of insight or an ‘aha’ moment.

Einstein himself asked ‘why do I get my best ideas in the shower?’

I can’t count how many times this formula has worked for me.

People ask me all the time: how do you get all these ideas to write articles?

How do understand and apply these concepts at such a young age?

It’s not about intelligence, it’s about knowing how to tap into the infinite power of the subconscious.

Make the conscious decision now to harness the full potential of your subconscious.

Whenever you have a problem, state your problem clearly and trust that your worker bees will find the solutions, within the time limit you give them.

Remember, you don’t have to be a genius to do this.

Summary

Albert Einstein was a better target-setter than he was a thinker. In fact, where his true brilliance was not his logic… but his imagination.

How To Think And Solve Problems Like Einstein

Step 1: Clearly define the problem.

Step 2: Act as if your problem is already solved.

Step 3: Trust and allow the solution to arise in time. 

(click here to read a summary of this post)

 

Albert Einstein is arguably the most famous genius in history – most widely known for developing his theory of relativity.

When you think of Einstein, you picture blackboards with crazy logarithms and formulas scribbled furiously in chalk.

But did you know that Albert Einstein was never gifted in math?

In the book ‘Sparks of Genius’, authors Robert & Michele Root-Bernstein revealed that compared to his fellow mathematicians – Einstein was relatively weak in math.

In order to prove many of his theories, Einstein enlisted the help of other mathematicians to assist him with the painstaking calculations.

He was even quoted for saying to someone in a letter: “Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater.”

In fact, his true brilliance was not his logic… but his imagination.

You see, a big factor to what made Einstein a genius was that he intuitively knew how the brain worked.

Our brains are incredibly powerful – more powerful than any supercomputer we have in existence today.

Our capacity to dream of solutions purely from our imagination and turn them into reality distinguishes us from any other animal in the universe.

Think of your mind like a highly productive beehive.

Your mind has two segments: the conscious and the subconscious. Likewise, in this beehive, there are two classes – the Queen Bee and the worker bees.

Your conscious mind is the Queen Bee – she runs the show.

She rules over all the worker bees, makes all the decisions and orders them to perform tasks.

Your subconscious mind is the thousands of worker bees who obediently receive orders from the Queen Bee and later, set out to execute them in the best way possible.

Despite running a dictatorship, the Queen Bee never tries to interfere with the worker bees.

She doesn’t tell them how to perform their duties.

She doesn’t need to repeat herself, nor does she need to push them to work harder.

She has complete trust in them – knowing that eventually, they’ll figure out for themselves how to get the jobs done in the most effective and efficient way possible.

Likewise, the worker bees never revolt against their Queen.

They speak only one word: ‘Yes’. Whatever the Queen commands, they perform.

No questions asked.

If the Queen changes her mind and hands out new orders, they receive them willingly.

They are never micromanaged.

They adapt and adjust accordingly, working independently, in teams or even large swarms, to bring results.

Sometimes the problems are simple and quick to fix. Sometimes the problems are complex and time-consuming.

But the worker bees never groan, whine or complain.

They figure it out as they go along… and eventually get the job done.

This is how our brains work.

Our subconscious mind has this powerful autopilot function – one that works continuously even when we’re not paying attention to the problem at hand.

The issue is, we tend to think that to solve difficult problems, we need to dwell on the problem for a prolonged period of time and wrack our brains until we squeeze one or two good ideas out.

But the opposite is true.

The best solutions come not from constantly thinking about a problem – but rather through a sense of trust and detachment that the solution will arise after we have already defined the goal.

Einstein And His Worker Bees

For Einstein, his thought process for proving theoretical ideas was simple.

If he wanted to prove a theory, he would first act as if that theory was already a factual conclusion.

He didn’t care about how ‘realistic’ or ‘reasonable’ the idea was.

He didn’t concern himself with figuring out ‘how’ the theory would be proven.

Instead, he would turn to his subconscious mind – or his worker bees – to solve problems for him while he occupies himself with other things like learning, relaxing or experimenting.

The truth is – Einstein was a better target-setter than he was a thinker.

His greatest accomplishments are evidence of how much he trusts his imagination over his own memory and knowledge.

The great thing is, we all have the same capacity to imagine and solve problems just like Einstein… if we are willing to trust our subconscious mind.

My favourite Einstein quote of all time is “Imagination is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”

I don’t claim to be Einstein, but there’s a method to his madness – and it works.

How to Think and Solve Problems Like Einstein

Step 1: Clearly define the problem.

Identify the problem and define it clearly.

This is the part where your Queen Bee states exactly what she wants.

As much as possible, be specific about how much time you have, what data you need and any relevant details.

Step 2: Act as if your problem is already solved.

This is where we take notes from the genius himself.

After you’ve clearly defined the problem, imagine that you already have the solution.

Visualize clearly what solving the problem would look like.

What do you want to see in your ‘end game’?

Suspend all doubt and judgement about whether or not the problem can be solved at the current moment. Your job is not to figure out the ‘how’, but only the ‘what’.

Step 3: Trust and allow the solution to arise in time. 

This is the part where you ‘surrender’ the problem to your worker bees, and let them figure out the problem on their own.

Don’t fixate yourself on the problem.

Let it go, chill out and go do other things.

I’d highly recommend reading articles and books around the subject, watching videos, free writing or just taking a break.

In the meantime, allow your subconscious mind to absorb data from sources you’d never expect in order to solve the problem.

Let the problem play in screensaver mode at the back of your mind, while you occupy yourself with other things.

The more you try to grapple with the problem yourself, the more you tend to interfere with your subconscious mind.

Give it time. Let your worker bees work their magic!

You’ll find that the answers will come to you in unexpected times… like a flash of insight or an ‘aha’ moment.

Einstein himself asked ‘why do I get my best ideas in the shower?’

I can’t count how many times this formula has worked for me.

People ask me all the time: how do you get all these ideas to write articles?

How do understand and apply these concepts at such a young age?

It’s not about intelligence, it’s about knowing how to tap into the infinite power of the subconscious.

Make the conscious decision now to harness the full potential of your subconscious.

Whenever you have a problem, state your problem clearly and trust that your worker bees will find the solutions, within the time limit you give them.

Remember, you don’t have to be a genius to do this.

Summary

Albert Einstein was a better target-setter than he was a thinker. In fact, where his true brilliance was not his logic… but his imagination.

How To Think And Solve Problems Like Einstein

Step 1: Clearly define the problem.

Step 2: Act as if your problem is already solved.

Step 3: Trust and allow the solution to arise in time.