Category Archives: Thinking

“Great minds like a think.”

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 “Great minds like a think.”

– The Economist

Image from The Economist

Image from The Economist

Based on research from the Jenkins Group, one-third of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives. 42% of college graduates never read another book after college, and 80% of families did not buy or read a book last year.

Great minds, like great bodies, need exercise. Reading and thinking about new ideas is like doing cerebral sit-ups, toning our cores to have those six-pack abs we desire.

Exercise:

How will you exercise your mental muscles in the coming days, weeks, and years ahead to avoid the atrophy of the mind?

Consider taking the “use it or lose it” mental fitness challenge in Episode 10 of Brain Games, from National Geographic.

“The ability to perceive or think differently is more important than the knowledge gained.”

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“The ability to perceive or think differently is more important than the knowledge gained.”

– David Bohm, theoretical physicist


On / off, right / wrong, black / white are examples of polar opposites or, some might say, the duality of a situation. Knowledge, although highly prized and valuable in our world, often points us in the direction of the “right answer” and can often lead us to a somewhat limited view on a particular subject.

Bohm suggests that being open to various perspectives and having the ability to think differently is more important than knowledge in our world today. We need the wisdom to evaluate things with a full spectrum of colors and multiple shades of grey.

Exercise:

Where in your personal and professional life are you limited by knowledge gained and your need to be right? How can you exercise your “try it on” muscle to explore opportunities and possibilities beyond your knowledge of things?

“The unfed mind devours itself.”

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“The unfed mind devours itself.”

—Gore Vidal, writer

Image from Unsplash

We’ve all heard the phrase “you are what you eat.” Perhaps this is also the case with our thoughts.

When we feed ourselves positive, affirming ideas and thoughts, our lives expand and become better. When we feed ourselves negative and critical thoughts – which often occur when our minds are not enriched – we tend to regress, becoming smaller and far less fulfilled.

Exercise:

If the phrase thoughts become things has some truth to it, plan your future cerebral meals carefully to include only the choicest morsels.

  • Consider purchasing a copy of John Maxwell’s Maxwell Daily Reader to chew on each day.
  • Read a passage from the Bible, Torah, Koran or another inspirational book.

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