Try using this proactive tool for making better decisions

One of the worst aspects of the modern world is the way that speed rules people’s lives. Sometimes it seems that doing something quickly is seen as more important than doing it right. And nowhere is this tendency more common — and more dangerous — that when it comes to making up your mind about someone or something.

We’re also encouraged to accept superficial news measured in sound bites, accept the word of spin doctors as essentially true, jump to emotional conclusions rather that wait until feelings subside and reason re-asserts itself, and assume that there is a single, one-size-fits-all, ‘true’ answer to everything.

That’s why it’s important to train yourself to open your mind and see all those aspects of a situation that you miss by rushing — or which other, highly interested parties want you to overlook, so your decision works in their interests. Continued

It seems that thinking isn’t something that only happens inside your head

A recent article in The Boston Globe summarizes some of the current finding about the ways that our bodies and minds work together (“Don’t just stand there, think”). If these studies are correct, the relationship between what goes on inside the brain and what the rest of the body is doing may be far more important and complex than we imagined. That old image of the sage sitting in silent, unmoving contemplation might simply be wrong.

The English poet, Sir John Betjeman, explained that he went on long walks to work out his verses, which maybe explains why so many of his poems have the kind of rhythm you could march to. Edward Elgar bicycled through miles of countryside, seeking inspiration for his music. Now it seems that the intuitive link they found between bodily activity and mental processing is being proved by scientific experiments. Continued

Our days are full of sounds of all kinds: traffic noise, people talking, machinery whirring, background muzak playing endlessly, the sounds of walking or running. It seems people cannot get enough sound, given the number you see with iPods playing, the cars that drive up alongside you at the lights and suddenly assail you with a thumping beat, the endless music in stores, malls and elsewhere. But there’s one sound you almost never hear: silence.

I don’t think it can always have been this way. Our ancestors — probably not much further back the our great-grandparents — would have lived in world where something approaching silence was the norm, punctuated only by the sounds of nature. So it’s not unreasonable to wonder whether all the noise is doing us any harm; whether we are prevented from being what we could and should be, because we are constantly distracted by all that noise. Continued

Most businesses pride themselves on their innovation, but if schools neglect to teach young people to think creatively or critically, where will the next generation of creative people be found?

An article in Management Issues (“High school leavers can’t think, can’t communicate”) suggests that our schools are more focused on cramming their pupils for standardized tests than helping them develop critical skills they will need for employment. Continued