The Path to Genius: Think ‘How,’ Instead of ‘What’

If you believe the hype, genius is a rare, fixed quantity: either you’re born with it or aren’t. But what if being a genius isn’t solely inborn?

What if anyone could become a genius by adopting the right thinking habits?
Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, and Marie Curie had brilliant ideas that pushed the boundaries of what was known and understood at the time.

This isn’t to say they were more intelligent than anyone else or that we could never be as smart as them. Research suggests there are ways we can all become more intelligent and think like a genius.

From being able to process information faster than most people to being able to tackle complex problems efficiently, anyone can learn how to think like a genius. Anyone can be a genius in the right context and with the right tools.

Great thinkers from da Vinci to Thomas Edison approached problems differently: they were more interested in how things could work — possibilities.

Brilliant thinkers like Marie Curie and Steve Jobs are renowned for their original thinking that led to groundbreaking discoveries: they knew “how” to think and understood “why” thinking in certain ways is beneficial for solving specific types of problems.

However, they weren’t born with these advantages; they learned specific methods to understand the world around them and unlock their hidden potential.

Geniuses know “how” to connect unrelated ideas to create something original. In recent research about creative brains, Roger Beaty, a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Psychology and the first author of the study, said, “People who are more creative can simultaneously engage brain networks that don’t typically work together.”

Great minds discover novel ideas because they hardly focus on what to think: a conventional approach to learning. They focus more on how to think outside traditional wisdom.

These thinkers built upon existing ideas, challenging themselves through unique practices to think deeper than other people did at the time.

Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and Thomas Jefferson all had different thinking methods. Still, they all shared one common trait: their success stems from their ability to break away from conventional thought patterns and challenge themselves to see things differently.

Genius is a skill

Genius is learnable — an ability to think and act outside your normal understanding realm. It requires being able to see things from different angles and imagine possible solutions that others might overlook.

Newton spent many years teaching himself mathematics before developing the concept of gravity (when an apple fell on his head) around 1666.

Picasso was not born to paint. He honed his skill. “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist,” says Pablo Picasso.

Mozart committed almost all his life to learning and composing music. “People err who think my art comes easily to me. I assure you, dear friend, nobody has devoted so much time and thought to compositions as I. There is not a famous master whose music I have not industriously studied through many times,” he said.

Geniuses are mostly self-learners. To excel at intelligent thinking and creating original work, hone your craft, learn from smart thinkers, and learn how geniuses think.

You can start with books. “I was raised by books. Books, and then my parents,” Elon Musk said. It’s not too late to tap your inner genius — but it comes at a price.

Logical thinkers see the relationships between different ideas or pieces of information and their implications for how things work together.

Analytical thinkers can break down problems into their parts so they can be understood and solved more efficiently.

Geniuses excel at thinking in both ways instead of just seeing patterns in isolated facts. They can see patterns that others overlook or fail to recognize because their mindset focuses solely on isolated facts instead of thinking about them in a broader context.

Original ideas are irrational — until the magic happens

“The genius, Thomas Edison, relentlessly tries one approach after another until the elusive solution is found,” writes Seth Godin.

Genius minds see things abstractly — the ability to look at things from a completely different perspective.

Geniuses tend to see the big picture more clearly than most people. Alan Turing’s Universal Turing Machine was the basis for the first computer. He honed the ability to see relationships between things through practice and experience.

When you are interested in original ideas, you are not afraid to try new things and take risks. You look for inspiration in things people take for granted, whether in nature or other people.

You find ways to draw inspiration from all sources. You maintain your curiosity — ask questions, challenge assumptions and think critically about the world around you.

Society is institutionally terrible at nurturing genius

“The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.” — Albert Einstein

The human capacity to learn, discover, seek, find, improve, create or change our environment is insanely natural.

In Body of Work: Finding the Thread that Ties Your Career Together, Pamela Slim writes, “We are made to create. We feel useful when we create. We release our ‘stuckness’ when we create. We reinvent our lives, tell new stories, and rebuild communities when we create. We reclaim our esteem, our muse, and our hope when we create.”

“It’s not something where you have it or you don’t,” Beaty wrote.

Watch how children think freely until they are educated to fall in line and become conventional thinkers. There is more to the mind than we think. But our educational systems don’t care about that.

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up,” Pablo Picasso said. We are being denied exceptional intelligence that can probably accelerate human evolution and transformation.

We are expected to fall in line, join closed-minded educational systems, stop thinking, and do what we are told. How is that supposed to nurture independent and original thinking?

Society is great at rewarding numbers. Get the highest score, and you will be encouraged to join reputable businesses that reward obedience.

Extraordinary competence is a skill: are you ready to pay the price for it? It could cost you half of your prime life. But if you enjoy the discovery process, it’s not work; it’s fun and time well spent.

Finding your original or creative self takes time and practice. You have to be willing to explore unconventional ideas and take risks in order for them to pay off.

You may not have the mind of Picasso or Leonardo, but your creative capacity is mainly within your control — just embrace life-long learning and learn better ways to connect ideas.

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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.

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