how to be a thinker!
Welcome to The Wisdomous - a friendly email sent to you every week to nourish your mental wealth and give you a better perspective on life. You will find micro-lessons from macro thinkers, a great story, fabulous reads, and fun suggestions.
Hey friends,
I hope your week is going well; recently, days have been a little harsh, filled with several responsibilities and awaiting choices, but I am grateful regardless of the life we have. How are you doing?
Recently, due to my increased offline time, I've had more opportunity to ponder - not the mindless activity that occurs when we amass intrusive ideas and other brain creations.
I have been learning to think well!
"Learning how to think means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and how you construct meaning from experience." wrote the American author David Foster Wallace.
Deconstructing the note resulted in the following observations:
First, I have to choose what we pay attention to.
Second, I have to construct meaning from experience.
In order to choose and construct meaning, we must exercise some control over how and what we think, as stated in the quote. And, in all honesty, our brain is constantly pulsing with thoughts and ideas that may either break us or make us, depending on how well we regulate them and interpret them.
Suppose you are influenced by advertising, gossip, worries, bullying, views, peer pressures, wrath, and many other emotional reactions in today's "awake" culture. In that case, you are not exercising your ability to think critically and effectively.
In the little book of thinking big, there is a good reference from the Maltese thinker, Edward Bono, who wrote so many good books on thinking; he wrote that " Thinking is a skill" rather than what we believe to be is "Intelligence in action".
I like Bono's view; "Thinking is a skill".
I am an optimist, and if thinking is a skill, I will add it to my list, among others that I am terrible at, such as playing the piano, drawing, and singing.
Well, be kind to yourself and patient while you develop the talent of thinking; join other thinkers to enhance your skills; and, as the adage goes, "where our minds go, our lives follow."
Happy thinking!
I created
Solitude: One can be instructed in society; one is inspired only in solitude.
I learned
Are courses - overrated? : To educate oneself, you don't need to purchase hundreds of pricey classes or go through dull lectures. How about just reading books?
curated nuggets
You get what everyone gets, a lifetime.
Like anything that can change your life, thinking big takes practice
Swim, don't float.
You will struggle to focus as long as you still think you have time.
We need to make the best out of our time.
We are always learning but sometimes not aware enough to pick lessons.
weekly note
Actual wandering requires a long leash.
The person who knows how to be properly alone is never completely alone. We each carry the comfort and knowledge of those we’ve loved and who have cared for us. Without this remembrance, our solitude would be unbearable.
Then, the ability to be alone is anything but a rejection of close bonds.
Watching list:
Music
Movies/TV
The Issue with Elvis
The Adam Project
Taboo
The Weekly question
What is your current state of mind?
Until the next one,
stay safe and sound!