Prompt # 40 - I Think

Prompt # 40 – I Think

I hardly ever think about thinking.

Where do I think? I used to think a lot when I was driving. Now I drive much less, maybe 3 or 4 times a week, usually just around town. And since my new car is a standard, it takes more concentration, with less time to think.

To me, there seems to be two kinds of thinking - creative thinking and problem solving. I do a lot of creative thinking, thinking up projects I want to write about and then thinking how best to word them - fiction or non-fiction. My problem-solving challenges vary. How am I going to get my three sections of chimney replaced? How am I going to motivate myself to move out of my house? Or should I give myself another ten years here? Or should I pay off the mortgage? Should I self-publish, POD? With this type of problem-solving thinking, especially if any numbers are involved, or mechanics, I will usually ask for input. Often from my brother. Or accountant. Or friends who have been through this already.

I have to write everything down, in order to remember, and make a TO DO list, to make a commitment. I have notes on scraps of paper everywhere. I get a lot of ideas while I am reading, so I make notes. I also find that writing helps me figure things out and think things through. Sometimes I don't know what I think until after I get into it, writing. Even with creative writing, the re-writing phase is the part I most enjoy. Making it better, once I've figured out what it is I am writing about. Maybe that's because the type of thinking shifts from creative to analytic and problem solving.

So, I guess I do most of my thinking sitting at my computer keyboard, or in my reading chair. Or while busy at other tasks around the house and yard. Trying not to think, not trying to think, seems to be one trick that works for me. That's when the ideas slip in.