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Thinking Sharp

Good Fit?

In 2002, the year I entered Secondary 1, I was "forced" to attend a course on Edward De Bono's Six Thinking Hats - it costs 100 plus bucks and is the first time I took part in such seminar-based sort of course. In the course, I learnt Edward De Bono's ideas and the tools he 'invented' to help us with attention-directing: the Thinking Hats (of course!), the Random Word method and more. The course instructor, Peter Low, introduced me to the idea of teaching creativity/thinking. The following year, a 'Thinking Programme' lesson emerged in our timetable - 40 minutes or so each week is devoted to this lesson. In the class, we learnt the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Critical Thinking and further applications of the Thinking Tools of Edward De Bono.

As I come to experience more of life, I realised more strongly than ever that thinking is a significant skill that sets brilliant people apart from mediocre ones. The intellectual capacity of people and their general talents in matters are often distributed pretty normally, and people do not exactly differ very sharply in these aspects. Thinking is thus what sets people apart and put them on wildly different paths in life. We all experience ups and downs and how we react to them or treat them has all to do with what we think about them; the ability to channel positive energies from circumstances through our thinking thus becomes exceptionally important.

"[F]or there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." - Hamlet, in Shakespeare's Hamlet

I've met plenty of 'emo' kids, students who fear just about everything: exams, parents' spanking, loneliness, being ostracized or bullied, fierce teachers, homework, failure, stress and more. These fears often destructive: a kid who is simultaneously fearful of failure and being ostracized by classmates for doing too well in class is going to be mediocre and sad for most of his childhood. Others are caught between losing friends and committing an act they know would earn them some whacking on their butts. These are 'problems' to young children and students but they often are just kid versions of the same things you'll find in adulthood. It is important to learn to 'think in the right way' to overcome these fears and such worries. It is the thinking involved in these circumstances that changes one's life by altering the choices one would make.

Critical Thinking helps you identify problems and appreciate cause-and-effect: if I've been studying hard and yet not scoring well enough, my methods might be wrong and I'll have to review my test-taking techniques as well. Creative Thinking helps you generate ideas for solving problems; cultivating habits of highly effective people helps you organize your thoughts and your work. Thinking allows you to manipulate your emotions as Hamlet has already discovered and your emotions will do the work of motivating or demotivating you. Even when you work, it is quick thinking that is going to save you; alternatively, at least learn the thinking that is going to help you stay calm when trouble arises. Often, uncertainty is more fearsome than 'the worst' and so picture 'the worst' in your mind and eliminate the uncertainty that surrounds - give yourself a pat when 'the worst' didn't happen.

Sharpen your thinking, and see your life change.