Thinking Like Albert Einstein – a Fourth Attribute

“Before you begin a thing, remind yourself that difficulties and delays quite impossible to foresee are ahead…You can only see one thing clearly, and that is your goal. Form a mental vision of that and cling to it through thick and thin.”–– Kathleen Norris

Our desire to have what we want and to have it now is increasingly reinforced by current marketing that promises just that, you can have it now.  Yet, the things most of us truly value require something that Albert had oodles of – long term vision – contradictory to how society operates in the twenty-first century.  If you want to have success with anything, from your career to your family to whatever excites you to accomplish, then long-term vision is something that must be employed as part of your approach to acquiring success.

Albert Einstein was just sixteen years old when he began to ponder the mysteries of what would later transform the world of Physics.  Ten years later, that pondering crested as a crowning achievement when he and his wife Mileva published the Special Theory of Relativity.  Those of you now familiar with my fondness for telling stories about Albert will recall that one of the first things he and his wife did upon publication of that theory was to get rip-roaring drunk.  It showed that Albert, smart as he was, was very capable of acting dumb.  But then again, given my recent celebration for the publication of my book, I’m not one that can talk about what is “dumb”.

Unfortunately, our society is increasingly living in the land of instant gratification – and we all buy into it. We begin anew at the gym with a burst of enthusiasm that quickly dissipates when we don’t look like Popeye after a few trips.  We enroll in karate and become discouraged that we’re not black belt material after five weeks.  We acquire a guitar looking to become a rock start, but then become tired of it all when all we’ve mastered after several weeks is Kumbaya.

For the vast majority of us, anything worth achieving will require long-term vision and a stick-to-itiveness to that vision.  They will factor heavily into critical thinking because working at something over the long haul will help you to see the inevitable problems through multiple perspectives, thereby increasing your ability to solve those very problems.  Stick to a health plan for the long term and you will begin to see the adjustments you can make that will aid your health in a holistic fashion.  With karate, learning the intricate nuances of that marvelous activity will lead you to have more spatial awareness of your surroundings.  Given its relationship to mathematics, the attention you give to music will improve how your brain processes and analyzes information.

For the things you wish to achieve, sticking to them for the long haul will sharpen your approach to those objectives.  You will find this approach cross-pollinating with other areas of your life as well.  Albert discovered that his long-term passions for sailing and the violin helped contribute to his solving some of nature’s most elusive mysteries.  Engage with long-term thinking and your mind will be going along similar pathways to Einstein’s.  Not a bad way to travel.

I’ve been at this for a while – is it time to celebrate?

With our next post, we will look at how Albert Einstein led not only with his brilliant mind, but also with his heart.