The Thought Process

Let me process my thoughts.

I’m sure you’ve heard this, or been the author of such a statement. But what does it mean? How do you process your thoughts in reality? And is there a shared framework we can all work from?

I recently unlocked an insight about my purpose and the unique superpower I possess. This realization was a culmination of a range of factors and experiences, some planned and some serendipitous. If you ask me how I came to the realization, it would be difficult to retrace the exact steps. But I know the general process: writing out my thoughts, asking questions, having conversations, walking while reflecting, and mindfully observing patterns. So it begged the question: Can I detail this process into something more structured? This is what I would describe as The Thought Process.

This process covers the hardest and most complex problems. When making simple decisions, this is unnecessary. This process is a guide, not a checklist. You may jump around and use different techniques. This is my account of the process I’ve uncovered that helps me reach clarity, untangling the most chaotic and complex problems.

With that said, let’s press on!

Framing

The first stage of The Thought Process is Framing. This is where you explore your thoughts, interrogate them, and keep asking questions until the core problem reveals itself. At this stage, there are unknown unknowns—you don’t know what you don’t know. You have to stay open and fluid in your investigation.

Depending on the complexity of what you’re working through, this will most likely be the stage where you spend the most time. We can’t solve a problem we don’t understand. Framing is the work that helps us deeply understand what we’re trying to solve. Don’t shortcut this process, even if it feels slow.

There are three steps in Framing:

1. Write your thoughts out.
2. Create space to walk and reflect.
3. Frame the problem hypothesis clearly.

Write

In order to understand your thinking, you need to generate the raw material to work from. For me, it begins with writing. I have a Thought Lab where I capture journal-style entries. This is my space to go deep in an unrefined state. I don’t know where it’s going to go, but the only way to figure it out is through writing.

The objective in this stage is to develop an initial hypothesis you can build from. This is the core assumption you will test in later stages.

At this stage, there are three principles:

1. Free Flow: Write out unfiltered thoughts.
2. Second Look: Come back and assess later.
3. Initial Hypothesis: Form your initial concept.

Free Flow

This step is simple: Just start writing. You don’t need to worry about flow or grammar—this is an unrefined expression of your thoughts. If it’s helpful, you can set a timer and just keep writing until the time is up. Or, if you have the space, you can just write until it feels complete. There’s no goal here other than writing until you feel like your thoughts are fully expressed.

Second Look

Now you need to step away from the work and revisit it later. It doesn’t have to be long after the fact, but long enough you can come back with an altered perspective. This is like writing an angry letter and not sending it until the morning. By the time you go to send it, you typically don’t feel the same way. While you may not feel anger as the driving emotion, you will feel something. And your emotional state and perception will have changed by the next pass.

The benefit of doing so is to provide an early refinement to your thoughts. Was there anything you missed? Did something new arise since you first wrote this? Now’s your chance to fill in some of the small details. If it’s a complex problem, you may take multiple passes here until you feel ready to move forward.

Initial Hypothesis

At this point, you should have a solid understanding of what you’re thinking. And this step is where you distill that thinking into an initial hypothesis. I say initial here because it’s not the final one. It’s what you can start with as you move into reflection.

But first, let’s align on the definition of hypothesis, and how we should think about it at this stage of thought development.

A hypothesis is a tentative statement that must be testable and falsifiable. It’s often framed as an “If…Then” statement, and used to explain observations and predict outcomes. Those outcomes are then verified through experimentation.

As a proponent of building an Experimental Mindset, I think this definition matches what we’re trying to do. The culmination of our writing exercises should reveal a clear statement that we can test and verify. But instead of the scientific rigor typically used to validate a hypothesis, we’re going to exert our own reflection skills to verify it.

Here’s an example initial hypothesis for what we’re trying to understand here as it relates to The Thought Process (spoiler alert!):

The Thought Process goes through the stages of framing, testing, and refining to crystallize a thought into a simple, intuitive, and understandable thesis with three clear and memorable principles.

This hypothesis is what we can move forward with as we carry forward in Framing.

Reflect

Everyone can use more time for reflection. This is especially true as we’re inundated with endless scrolling, content snippets, and the constant influx of infinite information. Taking time to think, reflect, and do so in the absence of screens will open your mind to new ideas. Oh, and you’ll think better, sleep better, and feel more recharged.

Good deal, right?

Reflection is part of critical thinking, a skill receding with the continued evolution of technology and rise of AI, in particular. I’d argue that critical thinking will be the most important skill of the remainder of the 21st century. It’s a skill that requires cultivation.

At this stage, there are three principles:

1. Walk It Out: Get outside every day and walk.
2. Talk It Through: Engage in conversation with other perspectives.
3. Background It: Remove your focus on the thought to gain clarity on it.

Walk It Out

I love to walk. I get at least an hour of walking in every day. And I make sure the walking takes place outside where I can be as close to nature as possible. Regular walking strengthens connections within and between key brain networks related to memory, decision-making, and attention regulation. Studies show that walking increases oxygen and nutrient flow to the brain, which can enhance creativity. Participants in one study experienced a 60% increase in creative output while walking compared to sitting.

That’s the science, but this has also been my own experience. You don’t have to repeat this habit for long to see the power behind regular walking. In order to reflect, we need to slow down. And when we slow down, we see new paths to speed up. This is the Paradox of Speed, which is how we slow down to speed up.

It begins with reflection.

Talk It Through

Self-reflection is not the only way to reflect. When we stay in our own heads, it’s hard to see different perspectives, hear different words, and process completely. This is why another element of reflection is about engaging in conversation with others. You engage with perspectives that are not your own, introducing entirely different mental models that challenge your own thinking.

One of my favorite things to do is talk through a problem while walking. This combines the power of walking with the benefits of conversation. When you process your thoughts verbally, you shift into a different communication mode, which allows you to process in a different way.

Having to explain something out loud to someone forces more wide-reaching exploration for the right words. And finding the right words to articulate your thinking is one of the most critical things to achieve.

Background It

When we’re actively engaged and focused on solving a problem for too long, our thinking begins to narrow. We lose the ability to think outside the box. Talking it through with someone else is helpful, but sometimes we need to just set it aside and let the thought percolate.

There’s science to back this up, too. Neuroscience reveals that stepping away from a problem or sleeping on it leverages powerful unconscious cognitive processes to enhance creative problem-solving. One such process is called The Incubation Effect. Studies show people solve 23% more complex puzzles after incubation periods compared to continuous work. Now, this doesn’t mean you do nothing (Don’t bother me! I’m incubating)—the ideal break during incubation involves low-cognitive tasks like walking or doing chores.

Another piece is how your brain draws connections. When we move our focus away from the active problem, we interact with new ideas that trigger new insights. If we just stay actively engaged on the singular problem, it’s hard to spot those connections. Putting it in the background creates opportunities for connections to emerge.

Frame

We’ve done work to consolidate our thinking into a clear understanding of the problem. But in order to approach the problem from different angles, we need to frame the problem so we can see it, work with it, and solve it. We take our initial hypothesis, refine it through early reflection, and find the right framing to reflect more deeply.

Here is our initial hypothesis from earlier:

The Thought Process goes through the stages of framing, testing, and refining to crystallize a thought into a simple, intuitive, and understandable thesis with three clear and memorable principles.

At this stage, there are three principles:

1. Invert the Problem: Take the hypothesis and think about it completely different.
2. Argue the Opposite: Argue the opposite of the hypothesis and try to disprove it.
3. Find the Question: Unlock the right question to challenge the hypothesis.

Invert the Problem

Our initial hypothesis states how to move through specific stages to gain clarity. One way to invert the problem would be to address what happens when we don’t process our thoughts this way.

Here’s what that could look like:

Thoughts become muddled when we rush to conclusions without structure, skip testing assumptions, and refuse to iterate on our initial ideas.

By inverting the problem, we see how our hypothesis is still valid because those stages prevent the issues prevalent when we don’t move through them intentionally. A simple question to ask here is, Is the opposite true? The answer here is yes.

Argue the Opposite

Now we can argue the opposite of our hypothesis to test its validity. We could say:

The Thought Process doesn’t require rigid stages or specific outputs because creative insights come from spontaneous, organic, and unstructured thinking.

While this counter-argument raises valid points, constraints breed creativity. Having a framework isn’t something that’s meant to restrict—it’s meant to guide. By arguing the opposite, we’ve reinforced why the structured approach is valuable, while acknowledging its limitations. This is a tension that guides balance, reinforcing the structural integrity of the hypothesis.

Find the Question

The right question is a direct proxy to solving the right problem. This is about moving from the Solution Space into the Problem Space. Keep seeking out the guiding question that strengthens the framing to drive clarity. Ask better questions and create better answers.

For our hypothesis, we could ask questions like:

• Does a structured thought process lead to better processing?
• Are the three stages sequential, or do they rely on one another?
• How do we measure the effectiveness of this process framework?

These questions provide a lens to examine the hypothesis through. As we answer each question, we bolster our understanding and refine the initial hypothesis. This is why, when someone asks you an excellent question, it can stop you in your tracks. Questions unlock insights. You just have the find the right one to add the extra dose of clarity to your hypothesis.

Testing

The second stage of The Thought Process is Testing. We take our hypothesis and we start testing it in order to develop a theory. As we defined it earlier, the hypothesis is a tentative statement that must be testable and falsifiable. A theory, on the other hand, is a central argument or claim that we aim to prove. While the hypothesis supports the overall thesis, it is narrower in scope. The theory provides the larger framework. The initial hypothesis is the seed of the idea, and the theory is the expanded version. But if you already reached the right scope with your hypothesis, it can become the theory.

There are three steps in Testing:

1. Validate through direct experience and application.
2. Look for recurring patterns and themes.
3. Share and gather feedback.

Validation

As I created the initial hypothesis for this very post you’re reading, I moved to test it. I have plenty of thoughts to process, so does this hypothesis hold up in the field? I used this hypothesis to test itself (trippy, I know) by seeing if I could use The Thought Process to define a thesis for The Thought Process.

The short answer is yes. Following this process to test the hypothesis validated it. I moved through each stage—Framing, Testing, Refining—to come up with the thesis. The initial hypothesis created in Framing held up to the rigor of Testing, and the Refining tightened up the language, keeping the structure in tact.

The goal is to put it to the test. And don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t work. Be like a scientist and use the failure as data to inform the next iteration. Just keep learning.

Patterns

I know I’m onto something when the hypothesis keeps coming up in conversation. And no, not in a forceful way—it’s natural and organic, and you quickly see a theme develop. You talk to two different people in two entirely different contexts, and your hypothesis reveals itself.

Find the patterns. When the theme keeps appearing, you have a pattern. And when you have a pattern, you increase validation.

When I first developed The Thought Process initial hypothesis, I found myself seeing each stage emerge as I developed new ideas. That, my friend, is the pattern.

Feedback

The last part of Testing is where you take your hypothesis out and shop it around. You present it to different people, ask questions, and capture their feedback. Does it resonate? Is there something confusing? Have they experienced something similar?

The feedback will further your testing, validate your hypothesis, or give you new data to infuse your thinking. Again, it’s all learning—don’t sweat the “failures.”

Refining

The final stage of The Thought Process is Refining. We take our validated hypothesis, and we keep refining it until the language is clear, sticky, and repeatable. We have the right words, and the meaning is crystal clear.

There are three steps in Refining:

1. Create clear and intentional language.
2. Make it sticky and easy to remember.
3. Make it repeatable with shorthand.

Clear

A good name signals intent. There’s clarity in the name, and it’s obvious what it means. You can come up with branded terms, but make sure there’s intention behind it. Always write this name as a Proper Noun with the appropriate capitalization.

Here are some examples I’ve used:

• Thought Lab
• The Next Step
• Tension Guides
• Expansive Writing
• Paradox of Speed

Sticky

A sticky name is both short and has a pleasing rhythm to it. I think the examples above fit the bill nicely, but this is also a good use-case for AI because it can give you a lot of options in a short amount of time. Even when I dislike everything it gives me, it will generate ideas or unique combinations that get me there faster. That said, I’ve often wrestled with a name for weeks before the right one revealed itself. It takes time, but it’s worth it.

If you’re working with a company or on teams, you can use it as a proving ground to test the sticky-ness of your name. Keep using it and see if it catches on, which can be improved through its repeatability.

Repeatable

I love simple and clear names, but I also love a good acronym. It shortens the name even further, making it easier to reference and repeat. And the more it’s repeated, the more it sticks.

Here are a few techniques I like:

• Standard Acronym: This is simply taking the first letter of each word. The Next Step becomes TNS.
• Word Acronym: This is where you can create the acronym such that it spells a word out. An example is PASS, which is a format I use for software pitch documents. It stands for Problem, Appetite, Solution, Success.
• Alliteration: I’m a sucker for alliteration. If two words have a shared character as the first letter, I will agonize over the third word to achieve alliteration. An example here would be Define, De-risk, Deliver.

Process Your Thoughts

We’ve reached the end of this journey to process our thoughts. We have The Thought Process as the high-level framework, guiding us through the stages of Framing, Testing, and Refining—FTR, if you will. These stages provide a map to guide us through the journey of our thoughts. Each stage is a milestone, marking the evolution of thought, the development of new insights, and the elegant refinement of ideas.

Like all frameworks, it’s a guide, not a checklist. Use the whole thing or cherry-pick parts you find useful. Some thoughts linger in stages, revert to previous stages, and even jump stages. Let thoughts process naturally, but trust in the toolbox at your disposal. The Thought Process is always there to help.