Can speed thinking help people with depression?
December 8, 2008
Recent research by Emily Pronin et al has confirmed that thinking quicker can have a positive impact on your mood and leave you feeling more energised. I have found exactly the same effect in my speed thinking sessions. Both I and the people in my workshop have this great burst of energy where anything seems possible.
I mention this finding in the context of a gloomy and uncertain world. If you work in business no doubt you have been impacted by the recent downturn, job security is a thing of the past, people are feeling stressed and overworked. It might be that you have lost your job or someone close to you has lost theirs. Whatever the situation, you can be excused for feeling a bit down at the moment.
But if this feeling continues and your thoughts slow down, you cannot make a decision or you feel stuck then perhaps you should seek help. Depression is a relentless and continuous illness that can be treated. I am not a psychologist or therapist so please bear this in mind but perhaps the concept and practice of Speed Thinking may be able to help you.
A friend of ours suffers from depression and has recently been using speed thinking to help him cope with this illness. This was a surprise to me when he first discussed it with me last week. After thinking about this for a while it does make perfect sense. He reports that using speed thinking gives him a feeling of accomplishment. It means that he can make quick decisions that he feels good about and in a sense gets him going.
Fred (not his real name) talked to me about creating a positive reinforcement cycle in his life. By this he means that speed thinking enables him to make a decision or solve a problem or create a new idea (to start in my language). Thinking quickly made him feel good immediately (as per Pronin’s work) and he could see the result of what he was doing (e.g. he would meet his girlfriend for a surprise lunch) which made him feel better and more in control of his life and a greater sense of achievement.
Fred uses speed thinking for the smaller things in his life but he feels that this gives him momentum and confidence to tackle the bigger things.
I did not initially design speed thinking for use in the treatment of depression but perhaps (as in Fred’s case) it can help certain people deal with this illness and lead more productive and fulfilling lives.
I would love to hear from you if this resonates with you or if you have used speed thinking to help in these types of situations.
Ken Hudson
A Press Release in 10 minutes (not 2-3 hours)
December 1, 2008
I recently conducted a number of Speed Thinking workshops with a major, international Public Relations firm. As a demonstration of the power of Speed Thinking we selected the task of writing a press release for their clients.
This activity would normally take this group of managers 2-3 hours but i suggested we could do it in 10 minutes with no drop in quality using a new way of thinking. I used my company as the client and the brief was to write a press release announcing the launch of a powerful new thinking system called Speed Thinking. The target audience was business leaders but in particular HR managers.
This is the process we went through:
Step 1. The 2 Minute Brief
I gave the group 2 minutes to ask me any question about me, my business, the benefits of speed thinking, client list, about me etc.
Step 2. Nine Headings in Two minutes
Working by themselves each team member had to write nine possible headlines in 2 minutes. The important point was to start and not to filter. I suggested to them that they should include a mixture of usual and radical headlines.
Step 3: Evaluate the best rational and emotional headlines
Working with a partner, the group then discussed each other’s headlines and agreed the best rational and emotional headline in a 2 minute period (I wanted the group to escape the left-brain, linear style of communication).
Step 4: Nine bullet points
Each pairing then selected their preferred emotional headline and were then asked to write the nine key support, bullet points under this heading (in 2 minutes).
Step 5: A workable draft
Each pairing were then given two minutes to convert these bullet points into a workable press release and then we read these out to the rest of the group. People were amazed at what they could do in such a short period of time.
An example of a press release from this process is given below:
‘A world first officially launches down under today, as Australian thought-leader, Dr Ken Hudson, introduces a brand new way of thinking to organisations across Australia, large and small.
The new home-grown speed thinking model has been endorsed by major leading global organisations whose productivity has noticeably increased since working with this thinking guru.
This will come as good news for Australian business as we enter a downturn, with clear business benefits which will come from a faster thinking workforce being very apparent.
Tipped as the new Malcolm Gladwell, next year Dr Ken also has plans to introduce his model to schools to embed this smart way of managing thinking time from the earliest age.’