Critical Thinking Vs Positive
Brent Baldwin
I have been thinking about the difference between positive thinking and critical thinking; I have always been a huge advocate of positive thinking but realize what we need is to think critically.
That is not to say that critical thinking is not positive; it typically is, but critical thinking is the foundation of the reasoning that World Class Thinkers utilize to come to their conclusions.
Conversely, positive thinking is taking an emotional situation or premise and simply replacing negative thoughts about its meaning with positive thoughts.
When we listen with a purely emotional heart, we can become vulnerable and may distort or re-frame facts through a lens that supports the feeling and not necessarily the facts. Positive thinking is not always realistic or necessarily attainable, sometimes it's just plain delusional.
Critical thinking is the essential first step on the road to fulfillment. It is optimism expressed as a result of understood circumstances, taking responsibility and committing to an outcome that will support a healthy, achievable and sustainable thought or proposition. How can we create a process that will identify a robust conclusion, and encourage optimism in the face of confusion, attack, hurt, and anger? I would recommend taking the time to look at the situation three different ways.
First, look at the situation with an irrational, emotional mind and think of the absolute worst thing that could happen (or did happen). Be creative and extreme. Logically we know this is not going to happen but put it out there, being the worst case that you can imagine. Something like; "look they hate me and they are all throwing cans of tomatoes at me!"
Second, develop a scenario that is the best thing that you want to see happen. Ask yourself what likely happened? Spend time and determine what you want, how you want it. Ask yourself what do I want or need to do realistically. Choose to see the situation as a constructive event, try removing any irrational emotion (which in a case like this is just about all of the emotion).
The third step is to come up with an unrealistically good scenario, something that is so extreme that you know it will not ever happen; this is a great place to add humor. "Look they are throwing million dollar bills at me."
Push the first step and the third step to the extreme outer margins. Next take a deep breath and embrace step two as your go forward position.
For those situations when we find ourselves in a moment without the luxury of review or preparation, my strategy is to try to create as much space as possible. Try to come back to it later, after you have had some time to give it some critical thought. The more we utilize processes like the three steps above, the more they become part of our muscle memory and the more we can live a life filled with realistic optimism.
That is not to say that critical thinking is not positive; it typically is, but critical thinking is the foundation of the reasoning that World Class Thinkers utilize to come to their conclusions.
Conversely, positive thinking is taking an emotional situation or premise and simply replacing negative thoughts about its meaning with positive thoughts.
When we listen with a purely emotional heart, we can become vulnerable and may distort or re-frame facts through a lens that supports the feeling and not necessarily the facts. Positive thinking is not always realistic or necessarily attainable, sometimes it's just plain delusional.
Critical thinking is the essential first step on the road to fulfillment. It is optimism expressed as a result of understood circumstances, taking responsibility and committing to an outcome that will support a healthy, achievable and sustainable thought or proposition. How can we create a process that will identify a robust conclusion, and encourage optimism in the face of confusion, attack, hurt, and anger? I would recommend taking the time to look at the situation three different ways.
First, look at the situation with an irrational, emotional mind and think of the absolute worst thing that could happen (or did happen). Be creative and extreme. Logically we know this is not going to happen but put it out there, being the worst case that you can imagine. Something like; "look they hate me and they are all throwing cans of tomatoes at me!"
Second, develop a scenario that is the best thing that you want to see happen. Ask yourself what likely happened? Spend time and determine what you want, how you want it. Ask yourself what do I want or need to do realistically. Choose to see the situation as a constructive event, try removing any irrational emotion (which in a case like this is just about all of the emotion).
The third step is to come up with an unrealistically good scenario, something that is so extreme that you know it will not ever happen; this is a great place to add humor. "Look they are throwing million dollar bills at me."
Push the first step and the third step to the extreme outer margins. Next take a deep breath and embrace step two as your go forward position.
For those situations when we find ourselves in a moment without the luxury of review or preparation, my strategy is to try to create as much space as possible. Try to come back to it later, after you have had some time to give it some critical thought. The more we utilize processes like the three steps above, the more they become part of our muscle memory and the more we can live a life filled with realistic optimism.