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Talk with a Friend

But don’t talk — just listen. Even if she only talks about her day, something she says could suggest an answer to your own problem. Or, if you can’t help it, tell your friend about your problem, but listen to see if your friend has a different take on it.

Detail of a collage (vintage sheet music covers) by Lisa Hochstein

Even Einstein needed to talk it out. Once, while trying to make sense of recent experiments and results from other scientists, he went to Switzerland to visit his friend Michele Besso and brought his “struggle” with him. Einstein left after a day of long discussions, and when he visited again the next day, declared to Besso that he had solved his problem. Newly inspired, he developed his special theory of relativity.