There have been a few nagging thoughts in my head for a few hours. Thoughts around
“Do people think?”
“How do people think?”
“How does the brain work?”
“Does the human brain find it easier not to think”
“Are there benefits to thinking?”
“What difference will it make if we think more?”
Well, what’s my sudden obsession with thinking this morning? Well, it’s not so much my worry that many people are not thinking, it’s the concern that even those empowered to make decisions on behalf of others are not really thinking too. So, I ask myself if I am really thinking too, or just living on autopilot.
Now enough of the philosophy. Let’s go slowly into the mechanics of thinking.
First, are there benefits of thinking? Yes!
People who think will not live averagely, they will not die for causes that don’t make sense, they will not waste their energies on low-value work, and they will not just barely survive. They will not be in the crowd of poverty statistics or the crowd of any statistics. People who think are more likely to be the generals than the foot soldiers. Thinking changes your hierarchy in this world – the thinkers are on top of the non-thinkers.
If you are not thinking, someone is thinking for you, or someone has thought for you.
How does the mind work?
The human mind is a little lazy, wanting to repeat already formed patterns than create new ones. Old routes are already clean and clear, blazing new trails requires a lot of work. So in order to not exert so much energy, people usually follow the already created roads, this is how our minds also operate. We find it easy to go along with what we have always known growing up. We first form beliefs and then build our lives around them. We were also taught that questioning some of those beliefs and seeking our own unique experiences is rebellion. The combination of thoughts and possibilities keeps people on the status quo of not thinking.
How do we break away from not thinking?
There are many steps in moving from the everyday wanderer to the uncommon wonderer.
The first step, in my opinion, is to make out time for thinking, slow down and concentrate in front of an empty notepad or sheet of paper. Then you need to find what to think about, and the easiest way is to query why you are doing what you are doing? Introduce why, to all your previous preconceived ideas or notions. Ask “Why?” More, and don’t be afraid to ask for guidance from other thinkers. Thinking is iterative. Our first thoughts are rarely the best thoughts, nor our second. We form and test the thoughts until we have a thought that stands the testing and produces a higher way of living. Thinking is costly, but the repercussions of not thinking are grave.
Thinking takes time, but not thinking drains future time and energy. Thinking makes you less busy, busy people are really people working extra hard to correct mistakes made by poor thinking. Your decisions do the speaking for your thinking. If you are thinking well, your decisions will show it.
Good thinking produces good decisions. Good decisions make the future more accessible, giving you more time and less stress.
Are you ready to improve your thinking today? Give thinking time, and document aggressively. Only what is documented has the capacity to impact the world.
