Optimal Thinking

October 21st, 2004 by Steve Pavlina

Optimal Thinking by Rosalene Glickman is a book I read about a year ago. I don’t recommend that anyone here read it because it’s one of those books that reads like an article padded out to the length of the book. You need only read the first chapter to absorb 80% of the book’s value. And I’ll give you that 80% right now, so you don’t even need to do that.

《最佳思维方式》是我一年前阅读的Rosalene Glickman的一本书。 在这里我不推荐这本书给任何人因为这本书像是将一篇文章拖长成的一本书。 你仅仅需要阅读第一章就可以获得这本书80%的概念。 现在我就将这80%的概念告诉你， 所以你不必去阅读那本书了。

Here’s the concept of optimal thinking in a nutshell. Suboptimal thinking is when you ask questions like, “What’s a good/great way to do X?” or “How can I solve Y?” Optimal thinking is when you ask, “What’s the best way to do X?” or “How can I solve Y in the best way possible?” It may seem like a subtle and unimportant difference, but when you start applying this rule to your life, I think you’ll see some interesting results as I have.

简单来说，最佳思维方式概念如下： 次优思维方式是你会问类似这样的问题“ 好的方式和最好的方式做X” 或者“ 我如何解决Y 以可能最好的方式” 这可能看起来像是微妙的和不重要的区别。 但是当你将这个规则运用于你的生活。 我想你将会跟我一样看到一些有趣的结果。

For example, when planning your next day, you might ask yourself (perhaps subconsciously and nonverbally), “What’s a good way to schedule my time tomorrow?” And by answering that question, you’ll plan a decent schedule for yourself. But it’s most likely a suboptimal schedule. Try instead asking yourself, “What’s the best way to schedule my time tomorrow?” Now you’re seeking the optimal solution — the best instead of just good or even great.

比如说， 当你计划你的明天， 你可能会问你自己（可能潜意识的和不说出来的 ）。 “ 什么是一个好的方式来安排我明天的时间”  然后回答这个问题， 你们计划一个合适的计划。 但是更多的像是一个次优选择性的计划安排。 试着问你自己"什么是最好的方式来安排我明天的时间？”。 现在你在追求最优的计划- 最好的而不是好的或者极好的。

Sometimes you don’t immediately know the best solution to a problem. So what you can do in that situation is to ask, “What will the best solution look like?” And then you start listing attributes and constraints that your optimal solution will need to exhibit. This helps you narrow your list of alternatives. If you know a particular attribute of the optimal solution, then you can reject all possible solutions that lack that attribute.

有时候你不是立即就知道解决一个问题的最好方法。 所以你能做的是在那种情况下问： “ 最好的解决办法像是什么样的呢？ 然后你开始列你的最佳选择所应该呈现的属性和约束条件。这将帮助你缩小选择的范围。。 如果你知道最佳选择的特殊属性， 然后你可以拒绝其他的缺乏此属性的其他的可能的解决办法。

Going back to the example of the best possible scheduling of your day, you might list some of these attributes: awaken early, exercise, work at least 8 solid hours, eat healthy meals, spend time with family, do something fun and rewarding in the evening, stretch myself in some way, get email inbox completely emptied, read for an hour, etc. Then you can work backwards from these subgoals to piece together your optimal schedule.

回到你的一天中最好的可能的计划安排这例子。你可能会列属一些属性： 早起， 锻炼，工作至少8个小时， 吃健康餐， 花时间和家人在一起 。做一些有趣的事情和度过有意义的一个晚上，以某种方式拉伸自己， 将邮箱完全清空，阅读一个小时等等。 然后你可以倒推工作将这些小目标拼起来成为你的最佳选择。

Keep in mind that the best solution always takes into account the resources you have available. If a possible solution is impractical, then it certainly isn’t optimal. So if the best way to schedule your day would require a supercomputer and six hours of planning time, then that solution is far from being the best. You might wish to include your key constraints in your original question, such as, “What’s the best way to schedule my time tomorrow in 20 minutes or less?”

心里要知道最好的选择总是占用你现有的资源。 如果一个可能的选择是不现实的， 那么确定这个不是最佳选择。 所以如果最好的方式计划你的一天是需要一个巨大的电脑以及6个小时的计划时间， 那么这个选择远远不是最佳选择。 你可以将你的约束条件放在你原始的问题中， 比如，“ 计划我明天的最好的时间是20分钟呢还是更少？ ” 

In my experience the most beneficial aspect of optimal thinking is that it helps you raise your standards. Instead of settling for suboptimal solutions and mediocre results, you commit to doing your best, yet in a way that’s practical and which considers the reality of your situation. Often when you ask yourself, “What’s the best …,” you’ll find your mind zooming towards a very different kind of solution than you would if you asked suboptimal questions.

根据我的经验，最佳思维的最有益的因素是它可以帮助你提升自己的标准。 而不是设置次优的选择和平庸的结果， 你承诺自己要做到最好， 然而却以一种现实的和被认为你现实情况的方式。经常当你问自己“ 什么是最好的。。” 你将会发现你的思维区域慢慢倾向于一种不同于如果你寻求次优问题的的思维。

Here are some sample optimal thinking questions to get your mind moving in that direction:

这里有一些最佳选择的问题可以让你的思维朝这个方向进行： 

What’s the best use of my time right now?

现在如何使用的我的时间的是什么？

What’s the best way for me to exercise regularly (when, what, how)?

什么是我锻炼的最好的方式（ 什么时候， 什么, 怎么样）？

What’s the best way to get myself out of debt?

什么是我摆脱债务的最好的方式？ 

What’s the best way for me to make an extra $10,000 as quickly as possible?

什么是让我最快的可能获得额外$10,000的方式？

What’s the best school for my child to attend?

我的小孩应该上哪个最好的学校？

What’s the best place for me to live? 什么是我居住的最好的地方？ 

What’s the best way to reply to this email? (use this one repeatedly to purge that clogged inbox)

什么是我回答这封邮件的最好的方式（ 用这个重复去清理拥堵的收件箱） 

What’s the best way for me to improve my social life?对我来说什么是最好的方式来提升社交生活？ 

What’s the best book I should read next? 我应该读的下一本的最好的书是什么？ 

What’s the best character class I could play in City of Heroes?在城市英雄中，我可以扮演的最好的角色是什么？ 

What’s the best new blog I should be reading regularly and tell everyone I know about?

什么是我应该经常看的并且告诉大家的最好的新的博客是什么？ 

Ask and you shall receive. Ask for the best.

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