Are you lacking structure? Unsure how to be the person you want to be?
These concerns are quite common. We struggle. Who are we? Who should we be? How can we be better?
I think one of the reasons why people struggle, is because they weren’t taught critical thinking. To answer the above questions, we have to spend time thinking. The more effectively you think, the more effective your answers to these rather existential questions will be.
First, you have to have an understanding of who you want to be and more importantly why. It’s very easy to create a goal, much harder to work towards it. If you already have a goal, ask yourself – why this goal. Why out of all the possible things you could work on – did you choose this one.
This act of questioning yourself is part of what it means to think critically. What you will find when you question your assumptions is your real motivation. Your real motivation brings clarity. It is much easier to make decisions about life paths when you know what you are really hoping to accomplish.
The other thing people who come to me seem to struggle with is really grasping the concept of consequences and how this impacts your chance of success.
Humanism is all about agency. We humans have the ability to choose our actions – to a certain extent. Every time we make a choice and act, we get consequences. Our goal should be to maximize the good and minimize the harm we do to ourselves and others. This seems simple enough but I keep meeting people who don’t ever take the time to do the cost benefit analysis for themselves. *cough* Charlie Sheen *cough*
Taking the time to weight the pros and cons doesn’t mean being a buzz kill. It means understanding the risks you are taking and taking precautions to minimize those risks – in advance – so that you can maximize your benefits and minimize the harm.
Now – I want you to imagine what sort of impact this sort of considered decision making will have over the course of your life. Now I want you to consider signing up for my Planning for Personal Success program at: https://humanistlearning.com/planforpersonalsuccess/
These concerns are quite common. We struggle. Who are we? Who should we be? How can we be better?
I think one of the reasons why people struggle, is because they weren’t taught critical thinking. To answer the above questions, we have to spend time thinking. The more effectively you think, the more effective your answers to these rather existential questions will be.
First, you have to have an understanding of who you want to be and more importantly why. It’s very easy to create a goal, much harder to work towards it. If you already have a goal, ask yourself – why this goal. Why out of all the possible things you could work on – did you choose this one.
This act of questioning yourself is part of what it means to think critically. What you will find when you question your assumptions is your real motivation. Your real motivation brings clarity. It is much easier to make decisions about life paths when you know what you are really hoping to accomplish.
The other thing people who come to me seem to struggle with is really grasping the concept of consequences and how this impacts your chance of success.
Humanism is all about agency. We humans have the ability to choose our actions – to a certain extent. Every time we make a choice and act, we get consequences. Our goal should be to maximize the good and minimize the harm we do to ourselves and others. This seems simple enough but I keep meeting people who don’t ever take the time to do the cost benefit analysis for themselves. *cough* Charlie Sheen *cough*
Taking the time to weight the pros and cons doesn’t mean being a buzz kill. It means understanding the risks you are taking and taking precautions to minimize those risks – in advance – so that you can maximize your benefits and minimize the harm.
No comments:
Post a Comment