Thinking better is a vital skill for life.
Our ability to make better judgement and life-changing decisions depend on our thought patterns. And those patterns are shaped by beliefs and assumptions we pick up from our immediate family, our environment and the influences we are unconsciously and deliberately exposed to in life.
If people are taught how to think rationally, analytically and clearly, they will learn to be less wrong more often.
If you don’t know how to think clearly, you could spend most of your life trying to correct your past mistakes. A single better decision change the trajectory of your life.
The good news is, you can teach yourself to think rationally and logically. You have everything you need to improve how you think.
The question is: will you make time to learn how to think clearly?
“Learning how to think means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think.” David Foster Wallace said.
The only way to improve your thinking level is to expose yourself to thinking tools. You can learn to solve problems, make smart decisions and think clearly about many life problems if you embrace the growth mindset.
Tier 3: First order thinkers
“People don’t like to think, if one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant.” ― Helen Keller
Many people at the bottom of the thinking pyramid rarely think beyond the surface of their problems. They look for short term hacks to long term problems.
If they face obstacles, they retreat to their comfort zones and seek external short term solutions. Instead of learning a new skill to become indispensable, they rely on outdated skills and overvalue their incompetence.
People at the bottom of the pyramid tend to harbour many false beliefs about their skills, character, and the future.
“Charles Darwin was right when he said, “Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.”
First order thinkers don’t care about the second-order consequences of their short term decisions. Or the impact their choices will have on their future selves. They are just not interested.
They think everyone who disagrees with them is irrational or stupid. People at the bottom of the thinking pyramid have fixed mindset. You can’t change their minds. But they can be encouraged to explore their curiosities.
Tier 2: Thought provokers
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” ― Plutarch
Thought-provokers are interested in uncovering better knowledge to live a better life. They are interested in the objective truth and how it impacts their choices.
People in the middle of the thinking pyramid lifelong learners who are interested in becoming better versions of themselves.
They invest in books, courses and resources to feed their minds. They are interested in finding clarity.
Intellectually humble people make time to improve their minds by other people’s discoveries, ideas, experiences and thoughts.
Thought-provokers know they might be wrong about their beliefs. They assume they don’t completely understand or know everything.
This mindset creates intellectual humility that allows them to explore the rational mind. It’s an essential step to thinking clearly.
Tier 1: Deep thinkers
“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. — Aristotle
Deep thinkers are knowledgeable about their ignorance. They know that they don’t know. They pursue Socratic wisdom for the pleasure of it.
They invest in thought-provoking books and make time to read and understand even ideas they disagree with. They are open-minded and are not emotionally attached to the ideas they find.
Deep thinkers are interested in proving themselves wrong. They ask better questions about their assumptions about life and seek better knowledge to help them become rational thinkers.
Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, Confucius, Kant, Einstein, Feynman, Hawking, Da Vinci and Jobs were deep thinkers. But you don’t have to become a great philosopher or scientist to become a high-level thinker.
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.” Richard Feynman said.
Deep thinkers understand the extent of their ignorance, so they focus on improving their rational thinking habits. Voltaire once said, “The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing.”
Learning to think better is a process — a journey of discovery. You can easily move from first order thinking to higher-level thinking. But it’s certainly quick. People who don’t appreciate deep knowledge about themselves, others and the world may never become better thinkers.
Our knowledge is always incomplete. It either contains personal blindspots, or the world has evolved and changed.
What once was true might be irrelevant tomorrow. It’s our responsibility to consistently upgrade our thinking habits, tools, models, narratives and perceptions to think clearly in a rapidly changing world.