Why Does Thinking Feel Like Hard Work?
You know that mental tension—perhaps you were wrestling with some mathematical problem, or trying to remember the shopping list, or attempting to ignore some noisy colleagues to focus on your work.
These activities provide a stark contrast to the gentle thoughts that appear when we daydream, or have an intuition about something, or act on autopilot.
Mental effort is a necessary part of life, but would life be better if we enjoyed that feeling a little more? Is the mind like a muscle in that working it out will come with added benefits later on? What happens in the brain when we invest some extra cognitive force?
Contents:
I. A BURDENED MIND
Learn what kinds of mental work truly tire the mind and why focus, memory, and decision-making demand so much.
II. RUNNING OUT OF STEAM
Explore whether mental fatigue is real, and how motivation—not energy—determines your will to keep thinking.
III. THE ABSENCE OF EFFORT
Find out why boredom can be as uncomfortable as overthinking, and how balance leads to flow and creativity.
IV. TRIGGERING A THOUGHT
See how intuition and reason dance together, and when to trust your gut versus challenge it.
V. A FINAL THOUGHT ON THINKING
Understand how conscious effort gives you control—and how mastering it can transform the way you think.
“A general ‘law of least effort’ applies to cognitive as well as physical exertion … Laziness is built deep into our nature.”
—Daniel Kahneman
See Also:
Free Will
Just how free do you think you are?
Connecting the Dots
Learn how to learn