Natural Grace

Scientists have some remarkable new advice for anyone who is struggling to make a difficult decision: Stop thinking about it.

It rings true. There's a reason that the best ideas hit people in the middle of the night, why writers often putt or smoke or otherwise take their mind off writing when trying to come up with an idea, why the best way to enjoy something is not to think about how you're enjoying it. In all such instances, we're not focused on ourselves--on our deadlines, our decision, our wants. When we're removed from the mental fray, the thing that religious philosophers know as "natural grace" takes over. The psychologists call it the "unconscious," but that's just their way of saying they really can't account for it.