I like to consider thinking as being on a sliding scale of externally focused and internally focused thinking. External thinking deals primarily with our surroundings and is involved more in logic, analysis, evaluation, calculation, spatial awareness and mostly unemotional, rational thinking processes.

For example, if you plan to cross a road you would assess what traffic is on the road, how faraway it is, how fast it is travelling and how quickly and safely you can move to cross the road. Similiarly, if you were surfing, or playing football or trying to catch a bus, your thinking would be primarily external logical and analytical.