This is a guest post by Tom O’Leary.
A classroom full of 10-year-old students is asked to solve a problem
with children crossing the street on the way to school. The children
come up with ideas that have been used successfully in other places:
traffic calming devices, overpasses, fluorescent jackets and speed
limits. All these ideas are conventional, exactly what the teacher
wants to hear.
Except for one. A student recommends that the school board sell the
property and move the classroom online. This is not what the teacher
was expecting.
This idea may not be practical, popular, or even possible, but when
it’s ridiculed by the class it might be the last independent thought
that the student dares to express — the death of another independent
thinker.
Independent thought is not popular — it is absolutely, pricelessly,
rare. Nothing you read about in the papers or see on the television is
independent. Whatever we take in from the popular media is regurgitated
conventional knowledge. There is nothing independent about most of the
world.
This is a tragedy — independent thought is essential for progress.
Conventional thinking moves us forward gradually at best (at worst it
pushes us backwards). Independent thinking is required to achieve any
substantial jump in performance.
Logically, when we think like everyone else is thinking, the best we
can expect is to achieve what they’re already achieving. If our aim is
to over-achieve, we need to avoid the same banal influences and think
impossibly. We need to become independent from conventional wisdom.
Fortunately, you don’t have to be particularly intelligent or well
educated to think independently. Consider small children. Conventional
wisdom says that shoes are for wearing and bananas are for eating.
Independent thinking allows children try eating the shoes and wearing
the bananas on their feet. Their lack of conventional wisdom and utter
disregard for how others view their decisions allows children to
experiment without anxiety.
In this case they may be wrong, but in
other cases they can be shockingly right.
Using these 5 strategies you can develop your independent thinking ability.
1. Disconnect from sources of conventional thinking
Instead of plugging into your TV, PC, or library for answers, think
for yourself first. Without cutting yourself off from the world, you
can increase your capacity for independent thought by limiting the
conventional opinion you absorb. This means reducing the media you
consume and the level of devotion you give to it. Independent thinkers
aren’t necessarily contrarian, but they don’t agree with the status quo
by default. They devise new criteria for perceiving the world rather
than seeing everything through the screen of their computer.
2. Immerse yourself in experiences that conflict with your current perspective
Instead of substituting a new conventional thought for the old one,
deliberately seek out experiences that challenge your views. These
experiences may exist in foreign cultures, unusual subcultures, or
between the pages of a book you disagree with. The point is not to
adopt a new train of thought, but to disrupt the conventional railroad.
3. Watch the process from a distance
Leaving your normal life behind can give you the freedom to see
issues from another perspective. Watching the world instead of eating it
up gives you the peace of mind to think for yourself. Standing still
from time to time gives you the opportunity to ridicule your own beliefs
and explore new angles.
4. Randomize your sensory inputs
Instead of visiting the same places, eating the same foods, and
talking to the same people, you can actively pursue new experiences.
Many people cling to the familiar to simplify decisions and create a
sense of security. If you truly want to think independently, you need
to get outside your comfort zone.
5. Practice disbelief
Without becoming a cynic, you can develop the habit of instinctively
distrusting thoughts that rely on conventional wisdom. Instead of
assuming that these “truths” are self evident, suspend judgement until
you’ve have confirmed that there is reality behind the logic.
If all of this sounds too difficult, consider what can be gained from
independent thought. Even microscopic steps towards thinking
independently will increase your contribution to the world. You will
see opportunities and solutions that others overlook. You will obtain a
competitive advantage over less creative thinkers. Most importantly,
your thoughts will be your own and not just recycled media.
Think independently and you create a world of limitless opportunity. But don’t take my word for it…find out for yourself.
Tom O’Leary is an Australian Alien living in Japan. He considers
his life a safari and the goal of his journey is to reach his personal
potential. He writes about this and other areas of personal development
at www.lifegoalaction.com.
0 Comments