OP is not asking about some kind of 12-step program or technical topic. He's asking about a forgotten activity in this day and age: using the ol' noggin. Ordin

OP is not asking about some kind of 12-step program or technical topic. He's asking about a forgotten activity in this day and age: using the ol' noggin. Ordinary people have been doing that long before eggheads got paid to sit in rooms and produce 12-step programs on "CT," so the answer is simpler than they'd have you believe. Independent thought is like any other human skill; you learn by imitation. Really! You'll not only pick up all the mental skills you'd hear about in books (just without their fancy names), but the non-mental skills too -- like knowing when's your turn to speak, how to crack a joke, and how to silence self-doubt.