I think best when I’m not thinking. That was the essence of what she said to me.

For the past few days my wife and I had been discussing a decision we needed to make about our work together. We’d covered all the facts and figures. Now we simply needed to decide, yes or no. She was waiting for the answer to come to her, which is something altogether different than our normal means of weighing the information to arrive at a conclusion.

Waiting to receive the right answer may be an optimal decision-making strategy. It’s not the normal way most of us make choices, but it just may give us the best solutions. She had described it perfectly. Don’t try to make decisions by thinking them through. It’s just too easy to get lost in the details.

For example, a number of years ago I had been hired by a company to help them design a solution to a very complex business problem. I spent two months interviewing people and collecting information. All of the traditional methods weren’t sufficient. So I thought and thought and thought and couldn’t come up with what I believed would be the correct answer.

The big meeting was 3 days away. I didn’t have an answer and I also had another engagement that called me away from that project. Now I was distracted by other concerns. My mind was overworked and needed a rest. So I stopped thinking about all that work and took some time to relax with my family.

As I sat on a park bench watching my children play, the only thing on my mind was how warm the sun felt on my face and how happy my kids were as they ran about the playground. It was at that moment, when I wasn’t trying to think about anything, that a fully-formed answer appeared in my mind. I then knew exactly how to design the solution to that complex problem, two days before the meeting.

Our mind is an amazing tool, but sometimes we may find it works better when we take some of the pressure off of it. We probably shouldn’t try to “make it” make decisions, especially when we’re feeling some confusion about our alternatives. So, when you can, give it some breathing room. Stop trying to think and let your mind figure it out for you.

It just might surprise you with the perfect solution.