Tools for Thought

In any situation, certain givens define the range of how we perceive it. By expanding the scope of considerations with a conscious effort, we can increase the span of our attention to aspects that might have otherwise been missed.

Consider All Factors (CAF) is an attention directing tool designed to do this. During a defined interval of time, you mentally list every consideration about a topic you can think of, as opposed to just the first few that come to mind.

An example

A shy person is invited to a party. His default reaction is to think, “I’m just not an extrovert.” For this exercise he decides to enrich his perspective by considering other factors in that social situation:

• Body language
• Greetings
• Response to questions
• Questions to ask others
• Dressing for impact
• First impressions
• Smiling
• Who’s there that I already know?
• Purpose of attending
• Anxiety created by unfamiliarity

Some considerations arguably overlap: first impressions, dressing for impact, smiling. It doesn’t matter, and would be counterproductive to censor new angles on what might be thought of as the same theme, since the only way to really know is in hindsight. In this case, the person might not have previously paid any attention to the role of personal appearance in creating good first impression, despite that factor being obvious to others.

By consciously distributing cognition around a topic, he gives himself new things to think about. The consideration “purpose of attending” might contrast with going to the party simply because he was asked, instead of having a deliberate focus to guide to his behavior. The consideration, “anxiety created by unfamiliarity” is interesting. One strategy for overcoming his social apprehension is to familiarize himself with everyone in the room, making as many introductions as possible to avoid being confronted with a crowd of strangers.

Other examples

We can “do a CAF” for a couple of minutes on just about any topic, either for better planning or simply for its own sake as a mental exercise. Doing a CAF on apartment hunting might yield:

• Commute to and from work
• Length of lease
• Rent
• Total move-in cost
• Impression of landlord
• Square footage
• Aesthetics
• Noise level of surrounding area
• Walking distance to amenities (e.g. stores, parks)
• Parking
• Consensus with other decision makers
• Furniture
• Pets
• Terms of rental agreement

Again, some overlap. Pets and lease length would be covered in the rental agreement, but isolating “terms of rental agreement” as a separate item might prompt the apartment hunter to look more carefully for unreasonable clauses instead of taking the contract for granted. Notice that the apartment hunter has also factored in “impression of landlord” as a conscious consideration rather than leaving it as an afterthought or subliminal intuition.

Starting a exercise program:

• Type of exercise
• Clothing
• Equipment
• Schedule
• Home, gym, personal trainer?
• Fitness goals (e.g. weight, running distance)
• Handling eventual decline in discipline or enthusiasm
• Nutrition
• Documenting progress

This person has identified a decline in discipline and enthusiasm as something to deal with before its onset. It’s much easier to plan for setbacks in advance than trying to address them while they’re happening.

Exercises

The more you practice the CAF operation, the easier it gets, and less inclined you are to be satisfied with accepting the first considerations that immediately come to mind. When you think about a new topic, you’ll begin to instinctively ask yourself, “What am I missing?”

But it takes deliberate practice to make this questioning engagement a conscious habit. Spend two minutes doing a CAF on each of the following topics, using a timer and continuing to think of more factors until the time is up.

• Changing careers
• Beverages
• Improving sleep
• Creating memorable experiences
• Balancing present needs with lifetime goals
• Choosing a pet
• Gifts
• Advice
• Learning a foreign language
• Religion

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