When Theodore Roosevelt faced a problem, he would look at the painting of Abraham Lincoln on his office wall and ask himself, If Lincoln were in this situation, what would he do? Stepping outside himself, he gained clarity.
But this can seem daunting. How are we supposed to know what someone as wise as Abraham Lincoln, or Cyrus the Great, or Marcus Aurelius would do in situations similar to ours? First, we can read great books. We can immerse ourselves in the lives and thoughts of some of the best leaders and thinkers who have ever lived.
Second, we can be humble. We can stop thinking with our egos. We can allow a higher intelligence to act through us. But most of the time, says yogi Sadhguru, we don’t do this. “Instead of trying to tap into this all-powerful intelligence that pulsates within each of us, we opt to use our logical intellect, which is useful in certain situations, but essentially limited.”
In The Authentic Swing, bestselling author Steven Pressfield found himself stumped by a question similar to Roosevelt’s: How can I write the thoughts and actions of a fictional character who’s smarter and wiser than me? He realized he had to think beyond his ego. He had to be “tapped into a source whose wisdom far exceeds our own. All we have to do is trust it.”