Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them
-Henry Ford
Another Monday and another challenge, but before we get to that, let’s talk about the importance of critical thinking. What is critical thinking? It’s something that I feel the school system neglects a little too often. In my opinion our current school system conditions children to think being wrong is a terrible thing and doesn’t encouraging questioning and voicing opinions/concerns. There is no teacher-student bonding, it’s more like just accepting being told what to do.
Too often problems are just swept under the rug. People tend to neglect the most important thing in solving a problem, and never really dig too deep down to the roots of the cause. For examples, doctors will give a patient with allergies antihistamines for their allergy symptoms and usually neglect the actual cause of the allergies. The same can be said about crime, war, poverty, etc. Too many people don’t dig deep enough into a problem and just look at the surface. Sometimes it’s the way we think that is the problem in solving an outside problem, not the initial problem itself. Critical thinking is hard, but if one trains and develops it well, it can become a habit. Acquiring habits isn’t that hard, but it takes persistence. Some habit’s (mainly bad habits) come rather quickly, depending on the nature of our environment.
It’s true what they say, sometimes people really are too afraid to learn the truth. Most people form an identity based what they know and what their current lifestyle is. Their paradigm is set in stone and takes anything that challenges its integrity as a threat or an attack. Let’s face it, it’s uncomfortable to realize that all those years we’ve been wrong about something or question a deep value of ours. Its part of keeping an open mind and using critical thinking skills that keeps us growing and continuing to create for ourselves and others. Keeping an open mind means being humble to embarrassment. Embarrassment doesn’t exist; it’s only in the mind. The more you feel comfortable in your own shoes and the more you can ignore public ostracism, the easier it will be to look for answers and know your true self.
Thoughts and perceptions become so ingrained that people begin to form an identity based on them. Our ideas of how the world is shape our reality. So let me stress this again, anything that is counter to that identity becomes a threat. That’s when defense mechanisms come into play and people begin attacking back when questioned. So how can we fix this? One way is to be self aware. We need to know that we are all victims to it in some degree. The next habit should be to constantly question our thoughts and beliefs. That might be uncomfortable at first because most of the time, we will find flaws, but over time we will develop more complete ideas and have a better understanding of our lives, society, and the close people around us.
This Week’s Comfort Challenge: This one is simple for some and a nightmare for most. Try to spend a week without any use of your cell phone or internet! Comments and experience-sharing are encouraged!!
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