Thinking is one of the hardest things in the world, as Earl Nightingale said. However for those that engage in it, those that work at it, the skill is life changing. And yes thinking is a skill. One that has to be worked at and honed. It’s a shame that most people never develop the wonderful tools that we were given to their utmost. Our brains being a prime example of this, but also our bodies and spirits, though that’s a different topic.
Combine laziness and ignorance with a modern world that is designed to ensure we never develop the wonderful and important skill of thinking and it’s no wonder that so many are misled and taken advantage of. What our society holds up as great thinkers are generally just fools who push certain things that those in control want. True great thinkers you’ve likely either never heard of or would never recognize them for such.
A great thinker goes beyond subjects like math, science, and philosophy. A great thinker is one that can use his skills in every facet of his life. From dating/mating to getting a job to having the happiest, most fulfilling, and healthiest life possible. All require thinking to be achieved successfully, to be achieved in the most effective and efficient way possible.
A great thinker develops wisdom along with a great many other good traits. We talked a little about how reading and writing are to your mind what diet and exercise are to your body but I want to take that a little further and talk about a few skills that most people never develop and that every warrior poet needs to get the most of our life and what they represent.
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking’s dictionary definition is thus “the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgement” and that’s a pretty good working definition. Critical thinking is an essential skill to develop to get the most from life and live the life that you were meant to live. Yet its a skill that is in short supply. Much is said about the obesity epidemic but not as much is said about the lack of critical thinking. Just as many people with obese bodies have “obese” minds as in minds that are underused and in desperate need of good work.
While this can certainly be taken too far, the first and perhaps best way to develop critical thinking is to question everything that’s around. Again, maybe not everything, but a good many things. You should always be asking yourself the question, even if it’s just in your head, why? Why do we do things in a certain way? Why is this like this? Why are these situations in my life? Why am I am? And so on and so forth.
Let your curiosity lead you, especially at the start. Think about things. I know its hard and annoying and can suck sometimes but it’s work that has huge dividends. You have to think. You have to look at things and wonder about them. Figure them out, poke and prod, and try to understand. Don’t just accept things at face value, but ask why. Why is this, this way?
Don’t take this to an obnoxious extreme, stay grounded but also think. Think about things that are practical to you and of use. So many “thinkers” waste their time with nonsense questions and philosophical debates that have no meaning in the real world. Focus on real world things first and foremost and then worry about questions for questions sake. Don’t think of a “thinker” as an impractical thing. A true thinker is the most practical person there is.
Don’t Be Deceived
You have to have an understanding of how the world works. But what does that mean? What does it mean to know “how the world works”? Does that mean understanding gravitational pull, tectonic plates, and the temperature of the earth’s core? No, of course not, but what is meant by this? What does this mean? When someone says to have an understanding of the world, to not be naive, what they mean is simply this. Have an understanding of human nature and how humans work.
Humans are not innately good, humans are not at their hearts nice, sweet, loving, and caring. Humans are brutish, violent, and hateful apes. Apes with intelligence, more devious apes essentially. But how does one learn human nature? Well observation is the first and most obvious choice. Look around you and see what you see in the world. See what you see from people. Don’t put on rose tinted glasses but don’t but on grey or black tinted ones either. Throw the glasses away and look honestly and see what you see. It may be ugly, matter of fact it’s guaranteed to be ugly. But the important thing is that it’s true.
But beyond observation there are some other things that will help your understanding of human nature. The first is sales. As if you needed another reason for learning sales. Sales, copywriting, marketing and all of that will teach you a boatload about human nature. A whole lot more than any psychology studies could ever hope too. Another is to study violence and things like body language, human patterns, and the like. Learn all that you can about this devious ape called man.
It’s not pretty but it could very well be life saving.
The Potent Power Of Pattern Recognition
Pattern recognition is one of the most important skills that you can develop. We all have this at some level. We touch the flame, get burned by the flame, and realize we shouldn’t touch the flame again. It seems so obvious but replace flame with other things and suddenly most of humanity looks like fools. We have to move past this basic level of pattern recognition and look beyond it for more. Pattern recognition can explain current events, the flow of history, and a whole lot more. It can be life saving, literally. But how does one go about learning to recognize patterns?
We already talked about observation but it bears mentioning here. Look at things, look at the world around you, and look for connections between things. See how does this relate to that? Try to see if there’s any connection, given that everything in the world is related you’ll start finding things. Look for commonalities, look for patterns. Seek and you shall find. Test you hypothesis and see how they hold up to scrutiny and the experience of the real world. Again, think about things.
Look for patterns. How do things relate, correlate, do they? Look for patterns and then test those patterns with reality. See if they hold up. Do they hold up most of the time? Every time? Or rarely at all? You’ll get some things wrong and you’ll get other things right. This is all in the process of learning, don’t worry if you get something wrong. Understand why you got it wrong then go back to the drawing board, thinking, and coming up with new hypothesis that you test in the real world.
Remember that success, along with everything else in this world, leaves clues. Learn to recognize patterns.
Making The Most Of Thinking
Thinking doesn’t mean pondering dumb futile questions, people who are perceived as “smart” by our society are generally anything but, just like those our society says are “healthy” are anything but. Stop trusting the modern world and its definitions. Thinking is a practical skill first and foremost. And one of the most valuable skills that you can develop. There is a richness in the world around you that is just waiting to be discovered.
By richness I don’t mean everything is sunshine and rainbows, though there is great wonder in the world, much of what you find will be absolutely horrifying. Paradigm changing and not necessarily in a “good” way. Though in a necessary and true way. When you take time to think, to develop critical thinking skills, an understanding of human nature, and develop pattern recognition much of what you find will be horrid and a bit frightening.
However you’ll learn to see reality for what it is and operate with an understanding of reality and how things actually work. And that’s important. To see things with clear eyes, to see them as they are and not as you’d like them to be. Don’t fool yourself, self-honesty is an undervalued trait. Look at the horror with both eyes wide open and know what you’re walking into. With knowledge comes power and understanding. Let the ignorance be stripped and the horror revealed.
Because once you see horror…
You can also see beauty.
If anything I said here interests you I’d highly recommend you check out The Ultimate Alpha Collection which is a compilation of 16 of my books for the price of 5. It covers everything from being a man to making money to getting the right mindset to getting girls to fighting and more and is a resource no man should be without. Pick up your copy today!
-Charles Sledge
