Dear Fabulous Traveler ,

"When I hear you give your reasons," Watson remarked, "the thing always appears to me to be so ridiculously simple that I could easily do it myself, though at each successive instance of your reasoning, I am baffled until you explain your process. And yet I believe that my eyes are as good as yours."

"Quite so," [Sherlock]  answered, lighting a cigarette, and throwing himself down into an armchair. "You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen the steps which lead up from the hall to this room."

"Frequently."

"How often?"

"Well, some hundreds of times."

"Then how many are there?"

"How many? I don't know."

"Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps, because I have both seen and observed."

• Excerpted from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal in Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle

Like a scientist delving into nature’s most hidden secrets, Sherlock Holmes first gathers all the evidence. He surveys the sum of the evidence in light of his vast knowledge of crime and science to arrive at the most probable hypothesis.

In our quest for Mental Fitness, it’s important that we give our brains the right input if we expect them to provide the right output. That’s what observation is all about, and that’s what we will be learning this week.

Turning off Autopilot

When you go to the same places every day in the same way, meet the same people, and do the same things, it’s easy to get locked in your own head. Do you remember anything from your morning commute? What about the walk into the building?

When we establish the same routines every day, our mind kicks into autopilot whenever we are performing a familiar task. Usually, while we are going through the motions of our everyday tasks, our mind is racing between thoughts: “What am I going to eat for dinner? Did I forget a deadline for any projects? Why is this traffic refusing to move?”

While we’re not solving any villainous mysteries like Holmes, we can still take a page from his book and practice our powers of observation in order to live fuller lives. The difference between seeing and observing is the difference between living inside your own head and experiencing the world around you.

Be a tourist

Sherlock Holmes manages to stay on his toes, constantly scanning his environment and noticing subtle cues that give him profound insights about the nature of the world he lives in. It’s not hard to observe something interesting when we remember to take a moment to do so, but the challenge is maintaining this state of awareness.

Holmes found a unique way to stay focused on his environment, one that we can emulate with great success. All you have to do is imagine that you’re a tourist.

Even to the less observant individuals that met Holmes, something about him seemed off. He would often confide in Watson, his partner, that he felt like an outsider. The connection between the two, observation and feeling like an outsider, isn’t obvious at first. To understand the difference, think back to the last time you were visiting somewhere new.

A tourist is always scanning their environment, observing subtle differences with vigor and purpose. This sense of curiosity that visitors have in strange lands allows them to notice all of the unique and wonderful minutiae around them.

A few weeks ago, I visited a city across the country with a friend of mine. During the day, I went off on my own to explore the city. When I returned to meet my friend, I told him about all that I’d done, I described all of the interesting buildings, parks, and museums I’d been to. After my recounting of the day’s adventures, my friend exclaimed, “I’ve lived here for three years and I haven’t noticed half of the things you saw in just one day!”

The fact that I only had a few days to explore my environment filled me with a sense of curiosity and urgency that raised my awareness to new levels. My friend, who knew he had years to explore his own city, didn’t have this awareness and so had never actually seen the city he lived in for what it really was.

Collecting surprises

To me, everything was a surprise. The unique restaurants, the strangely shaped traffic lights, and even the mannerisms of the city’s inhabitants spiked my curiosity and filled me with a passion for exploration. My friend, oblivious to these interesting phenomena, failed to notice their value.

A surprise is only a surprise if you notice it. Build the habit of noticing and recording surprises that would have slipped past your radar. As you observe your world in this new light, your curiosity and excitement will help you build a richer and more complete picture of the world around you.

As you walk around your home town today, Fabulous Traveler, try to imagine that you are a foreigner seeing everything for the first and last time. Look for the beauty in everyday objects, the differences between what you expect and what you find. Become a collector of surprises.

This Week’s Plan

Your one-time action

To practice the art of observing and collecting surprises, let’s do a quick exercise right now. When you perform this habit later, use this exercise.

Get out your Mental Fitness notebook and title a new section with the date and “Observations at [your location]”.

Look around your environment and begin to collect surprises. A surprise is something you’ve never noticed before that, once you see it, is so obvious it surprises you.

Here is an example of the exercise:

July 20th, 1969 - Observations at my desk

The wood that my desk is made from appears to be compressed wood chips.

The handle of my tea pot has a nice little nook for my index finger I’d never noticed.

The tiles on the floor, which look like rock, are actually all the same shape. It must be made in a mold.

The plant on my desk seems to be stretching, almost reaching for the window to be closer to the sunlight.

There is a small rubber duck sitting at the edge of my desk. I can’t believe I’d never noticed him before!

Go ahead and perform this exercise right now, Fabulous Traveler. It may be difficult to collect your first few surprises, but after a few weeks you’ll start to notice them everywhere you go, especially the places you regularly visit.

Your goal

Every day for the next five days, whenever you remember to, pull out your Mental Fitness notebook and collect five surprises from your immediate environment.

During the first few sessions, you may only notice large objects such as a plant or a picture on the wall you’d never seen. With practice, you’ll find yourself noticing the patterns in the wallpaper, the varying colorations of a seemingly homogenous carpet, or even freckles on your arm you’d never noticed before.

Once you’ve practiced by collecting a few surprises around you now, tap Accept below to begin your first week as a detective.

If you’re feeling extra committed to strengthening your powers of observation, I’ve included a bonus exercise you can perform throughout the day at the end of this letter.

What We Are Doing

The practice of being observant and aware of your environment, besides adding a sense of discovery and wonder to each day, has many mental benefits. Studies have shown that practicing mindfulness and being aware of your surroundings increases blood flow to the parts of the brain that are associated with creativity and critical thinking.

Being mindful of your environment also strengthens the part of your brain associated with optimism and contentment. That’s intuitive, isn’t it? Whenever we are discovering new and interesting things, we are filled with a sense of excitement, wonder, and awe. If we can cultivate this state of mind, we will be happier more often.

Bonus Exercise

One of my favorite activities to practice the powers of observation is people watching. Sherlock was one of the best people watchers, but the person his character was based on was equally impressive.

Joseph Bell, the real life person who became Conan Doyle’s inspiration for the character of Sherlock Holmes, was a surgeon and medical school lecturer.  He recognized the importance of observation in the medical profession and realized that you must gain as much information as possible about a patient to treat them as effectively as possible.

In one story recounted by Conan Doyle, Bell was able to quickly glance at a patient and observe the patient’s medical complaint, manners, accent, and dress.  To the astonishment of his students, Bell correctly identified the man as a non-commissioned officer in a Scottish regiment of the British military, recently returned from Barbados.

The next time you’re out for a walk or sitting at a busy restaurant, observe the people around you. By looking at their clothing, appearance, and anything else you can observe, try to guess what kind of a person they are. Can you infer their profession? Are they married? What kind of personality do you think they have?

This is one of my favorite habits to practice, Fabulous Traveler, so I’m very excited to share it with you. Enjoy the opportunity to sharpen your powers of observation this week, and I’ll talk to you soon!