Essays: A Method for Cultivating Deep Thinking

Lately, while watching World Cup matches, I couldn’t help but notice how much more polished top players look compared to everyone else. It got me curious, so I started digging into it to figure out what’s actually driving that difference underneath the surface.

I just took it step by step: noticed the visible gap on the pitch, asked myself why they play that way, looked at what’s happening behind the scenes, and tried to pin down a single underlying principle.

The method I used?

Free-writing 

spot the core thread

map cause  effect

organize around that thread

All you really need is an A5 notebook and two pens (one black, one red). Super low-tech, honestly.

Step 1: Just start dumping your thoughts

Don’t worry about having a conclusion or even picking a specific angle yet. Write down anything that comes to mind related to the topic—observations, feelings, half-baked ideas, vague hunches, random quotes you’ve heard… basically everything. I aim for at least 800 words here. Just let it flow without sorting or judging it.

Step 2: Hunt for the core thread

Read back through that wall of text and look for one single sentence that keeps popping up in different forms, or the one that just feels like it captures what you’ve been thinking about. Draw a line under it. That’s your anchor.

Step 3: Map out the connections

Pull out two or three key terms from that sentence, then grab your red pen and start drawing arrows between them to show how they influence each other. It’s basically a quick cause-and-effect sketch. Keep it simple.

Step 4: Build it out around the anchor

Now that you’ve got your anchor and your map, go back through your original notes. Toss the rest of your thoughts into buckets like “examples,” “related ideas,” or “judgments,” and slot them into the framework. Expand on the keywords until it all clicks.

For this round, I started with just one question: “Why does Haaland look so calm when he’s dribbling?” By the time I finished writing it all out, the answer kept pointing to one thing: attention. It turns out that stamina, competitive mindset, and even what others are saying are all quietly vying for a player’s focus. And whatever attention is left over? That’s what decides whether they can read the game in clutch moments and react instantly.

If you keep doing this, you’ll start noticing something cool: totally different things—a soccer match, a big life decision, even a relationship—usually boil down to the same underlying variables and constraints. Over time, you’ll build your own personal framework. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time. Your gut feelings will just get sharper, and your decisions will feel way more grounded.