A longer, but insightful read. There are two takeaways I appreciate:

Mindfulness thinking and that ability to put distance between the problem you are solving once you feel stumped and can do not more. You might just do something totally unrelated to problem solving which you enjoy and relax. Then when you come back to the problem, since you have used your brain in a different way, and relaxed it a bit, you will solve the problem having just let it fester a bit.

Following are a couple of excerpts from Shane Parrish’s blog:

“Forcing your mind to take a step back is a tough thing to do. It seems counterintuitive to walk away from a problem that you want to solve. But in reality, the characteristic is not so remarkable either for Holmes or for individuals who are deep thinkers. The fact that it is remarkable for Watson (and that he self-admittedly lacks the skill) goes a long way to explaining why he so often fails when Holmes succeeds.

Not only does distance facilitate imaginative thinking but it also helps counter short-term emotions.”

Shane Parrish writes on a number of interesting subjects and blogs every day.

I found this one to be particularly relevant to competitive intelligence professionals.