Enjoy,
Allen
Thinking for yourself is one of those skills I had to learn as I got older. I had a really bad habit of blindly following what an authority figure would say without ever questioning the reasoning behind it. Another example would be doing something a certain way as this has always been the way it has been done. Well I have put together some strategies here that I think will help you develop your thought processes, to think in a more independent fashion. If you can think of any more methods or strategies, let me know by submitting a comment.
1) If in doubt - ask a question.
Don't be afraid to question things. Don't be afraid to offer a question even though other people in your peer group have not questioned before.
2) Place experience over authority.
If one reflects upon what the authority figure is conveying to you, does it pan out with your real life experience? For example, if someone tells you that all red heads are moody - have you experienced this in your life?
3) Understand People.
Does the person communicating with you have an agenda that might be influencing what they are telling you? What is motivating this person? Why do you think they think this way?
4) Don't feel you have to follow the crowd.
Remember the old adage - if Johnny put his hand in the fire does that mean you have to do that too?
5) Trust your feelings.
Trusting your "gut instinct" about something is often an over looked trait. If something does not feel right to you there is probably something wrong (or at least something seriously flawed) with what you are being told.
6) Remain calm.
Remaining calm and collected will help you remain objective and help you to think clearly. If you get caught up in a heated debated and loose your cool, your capacity for rational thinking is diminished.
7) Gather the facts.
Like any good thinker would do - gather all the facts before making a judgment. Ask yourself do you have all the facts? Are there gaps in your knowledge that is keeping me from the truth or from the solution to a problem?
8) Look at Things from Different Perspectives.
If you are trying to solve a problem - try coming at it in a different way. If one way hasn’t worked for you - try a different one! Try and see ideas or concepts from different perspectives. For example, would someone growing up in Japan think the same way about a subject as someone from Ireland?
9) Cultivate Empathy.
It is easier to understand why people think the way they do if you understand their situation. If I said "All red heads are moody and I don't want anything to do with them!" - there could be a reason for me to be saying this. Maybe I was bullied by a red head in school for example. Empathizing with people helps you understand that you may have a different opinion about something but that’s OK!
10) Be Brave.
It takes courage to stand up and say “I don't agree with you." Be kind to yourself, be patient and don't give up. If you want to learn how to think more independently -it does take time.
Oh and before I go - don't forget to question everything I have just told you. :)
Good luck!
Allen
20 comments:
11: Sleep on all important decisions it's amazing what your unconscious mind can sort out.
I get an immediate "red states / blue states," "fundamentalists / free-thinkers" buss from this.
Notice how every point, reversed, is a basic tenet of those who cling to authoritarianism:
1 - Do not question, erase your doubts (bad boy, don't have doubts.)
2 - Ignore experience if it disagrees with authority.
3 - Who are you to question the motives and agendas of other people?
4 - There is safety in the crowd - don't stand out, fit in.
5 - Distrust your feelings - you are not trustworthy, you need to be fixed.
6 - Something is out of the ordinary - PANIC!
7 - The facts will only confuse you. Besides, the truth is what your leaders say it is, don't go looking for facts on your own.
8 - Different perspectives? How dare you question the party line?
9 - Empathy is heresy in disguise - besides, those other guys are evil.
10 - Be meek, be humble, don't stick your head up or it'll get shot off. Besides, if you fear something, you can rely on your leaders to tell you how to be safe.
By the way, leave some money in the collection plate on your way out.
The "remain calm" suggestion is my favorite. If you do remain calm, you're more likely to have an intelligent thought while you're in the conversation.
I rarely "loose" my cool.
I don't agree with you.
This is a good advise for me, thanks!
why focus on red/blue (are we talking about halo or politics ?)
why not just focus on people ?
Great tips, well pointed and taken. I chuckled at the example of "redheads"...
"If in doubt - ask a question". This has to be the most important item on the list.
Excellent suggestions.
I'd add:
-Check your gut *before* you ask opinion of others.
If I ask for outside opinions before I check my own feelings, my mind becomes hopelessly clouded by those external opinions.
- Say, "I'll give you an answer in ten minutes (or an hour, or tomorrow)"
Many decisions can be made on the spot. Other times you will need time to get away from the person who is asking something of you. This is especially true of bosses,
parents or ex-spouses! Just being in their presence or on the phone with them can cloud your judgment. Forcing an instant decision (on matters that aren't life and death) is a form of bullying.
My problem with #5 "Trust your feelings" is that people who need this blog to help them think for themselves will likely be deceived by their feelings. "Gut" feelings often come from new and different ideas after being conditioned to do or believe things a certain way.
If you haven't done so yet, grab Carl Sagan's classic book “The Demon-Haunted World: Science As A Candle In the Dark”. When you come to his so-called “Baloney Detection Kit”, you'll be surprised at how many of his suggestions match yours. Not to imply you have copied them, of course; just to point out that both lists (yours and his) contain real good advice. Thanks for the tips!
A bit of an ironic title, but a well written article.
Gather the facts it's the essence of all points. Look at facts only, search for the facts if you don't have enough to make decission.
Tim
http://gtd-tools.com
dont u think 'trusting our feelings'keeps us away from thinking from different persvective n cause us to think 'i m right,no need to think more about it'?
derya
There's a good expression: Lazyness is a engine of progress :)
Since there is always another side, I offer my rebuttal:
First why should anyone/everyone think for themselves? Perhaps the human race is better off without so much thinking.
1) Things are usually whatever they seem to be. Why should we doubt them?
2) Have you never heard of the slave rebellion in ethics? See "Beyond Good and Evil" by Nietzsche.
3) True or false: that is the question. "Incorrect" does not necessarily follow from the source having an agenda.
4) If you don't like following the crowd, then you will want to evacuate all democracies.
5) My gut instinct says that the earth is flat and that I need sex with several partners. And I need tacos.
6) Sometimes you just psychologically need to get angry. Are you amish or something? If you want to think clearly, I would tell you to get more sleep.
7) You don't usually need all of the facts in order to eliminate one of the choices. Maybe some day a computer will be invented that can actually handle every fact for the sake of reason, but you are only human.
8) Survival in africa is much different than survival in Ireland, so the cultures are different. Do what makes sense in each situation. Don't just look at things differently.
9) Are we learning to think for ourselves or figure out what other people are thinking?
10) You will learn much better in school if you just believe what you are told.
Asking questions is the best way by far.
As a young lawyer I often held back from asking "dumb" questions of my clients but I soon discovered that the "dumb" questions often start the most creative thought processes.
The principle applies equally to our personal lives. Daring to ask "dumb" questions can have a positive impact on everything we do.
Andrew
I think Cultivating Empathy is so important
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