Thinking About Thinking
The world we have created
is a product of our thinking… A. Einstein
The life I create for myself is a product
of my thinking. I can improve on anything I do. This
includes the way I think. If I improve the way I think, I become
a more imaginative - a more
creative being. When I improve the way I think, I do
things differently…I do different things… I get
different results. If I want things to change in my life…. I have to
change the way I think… about myself, about others, about the world.
When I improve the way I think, I realize
how much I owe … to other travelers – present ones, and also those who went
before. And when I build on what I’ve learned…I must take care… I pass
on to others too.
When I improve the way I think, and look, and listen… I expand my vision. I notice more. I learn to ‘see’ from different points of
viewing…Within some limits, I’m not upset with other, and others’ points of
viewing. From many points of viewing, I see how often I sabotage myself
...block my efforts, and create more ‘problems’ for myself than others create
for me.
When I improve the way I think, I see a
world of interconnections and interdependence… a world of actions and
reactions…many ‘causes’, many effects…and myself -- a
self-reflecting being in a self-reflexive world….I keep this
sobering thought alive….
In this self-reflexive, interactive world, the
effects of what I think, believe, fear, say, and do.... have nowhere else to
go…. What I think, and say, and do…. can do to me.
When I improve the way I think, I change the way I 'look' at things... A 'problem' could
become a 'challenge'... an answer to “Why”, one of many possible explanations…
a 'failure', an opportunity to learn about myself, about others, about the
world... a ‘mistake’, an invitation to improve.
When I improve the way I think,
and change the way I talk about things, I realize I often distress
myself with the things I tell myself, and the way I say what I say.
Caring about the way I talk with myself, and the way I
talk with others, I avoid much disagreeableness, confusions, distress, and
conflicts. When I improve the way I think…I come to know that whatever I am doing, I am doing many
other things at the same time…. I also come to realize this: When I get what I
had wished for -- it comes with many other things I did not want.
If I improve
the way I think, I change the way I listen and
look. I become aware of patterns of change. I see a Universe of rhythms…my life a complex of many rhythms.
Sensitive to rhythms, my own, others, and the world around me, I have different
expectations. I expect change, and learn to better manage change: Change in myself; change in others; change in familiar
situations. With conflicts…. problems….
stress…. reduced…
I learn the art of Gentle Living…Gentle Living with myself --
And Living Gently with others too.
When I improve the way I think, I
improve relationship with myself, and with others. I learn to learn from
anyone. I learn to learn from anything. And when I find mistakes I made, instead
of punishing myself…. I learn to learn from my mistakes. Universe exists as my
classroom:
I develop an inquiring mind…I never graduate.
When I change
the way I think, I realize there are more to things than what I ‘see’…more
to things than what I think… more to things than what I say. Knowing that I
don’t know all…I creep to conclusions – I work at looking before I leap.
I examine meanings that I gave, and many things I once believed. I also change
the way I feel; things I say; and how I do the things I do. Realizing things are not what I think
about them, feel about them,
say they are, or wish they were, I change many expectations too.
What I think; the way I feel; what I remember and
believe; what I expect; meanings I give; opinions I have; judgments I pass;
plans I make; things I wish for – These are goings on in me. Goings on
in the world outside… are not the same as… goings on going on in
me.
It matters not how much I think, I cannot think of everything. Realizing
I have left out lots, I adopt a heuristic “let’s see what happens approach”. I
write my conclusions, expectations, judgments, and plans, with a pencil. I do
not carve them out of stone. And when things don’t go the way
I planned, or match my expectations; or
support what I believe – I do not stay disappointed, angry, upset, hurt,
distressed.... I do not look for someone to blame. I try to understand what
happened; the part I played; and lessons I could learn…. And I sometimes smile
and tell myself:
“Hmmm …Universe works
that way too.
You’ve something new to think about…You did the best with
what you ‘knew’. With information you now have -- It’s up to you to change some
‘maps’ … Leave lots of space for future changes.”
When I improve the way I think, I realize
that what I think-feel and say, about someone, about something, says quite a
lot about myself: my beliefs; what I expect; values I hold; standards I accept
-- and especially the way I think. When I improve the way I think, I realize
the things I believe, value, say, and do; plans I make; judgments I pass; my
expectations, frustrations, impatience, hopes and fears, depend not only on
what I know -- but also on a great deal I do not know.
When I improve the way I think, I realize that much of
what I understand; much of what I fear, believe, know, and do; every judgment
that I make, is based not only on the information I have, but on information
missed, and also on a great deal of misinformation. Not
knowing, or understanding all about anything, or anyone -- including me, I am
aware that I live a great deal of my life based on beliefs -- my beliefs, and those
of others.
Depending so much on beliefs, I must be
careful not to accept believing for
knowing. I must not accept assumptions for
facts; opinions for truths; words for what
they stand for. I must not give more importance to a 'map' …. than I give to
the territory that was mapped.
One way I can improve myself; one way
to better manage myself in situations I find difficult, and trying; one way to
create more satisfying relationships; one way to improve whatever I do; one way
to change, or feel satisfied with situations I am in; one way to use my
intelligences more intelligently, one way I can make better use of my times;
one way I might improve my little part of Universe….Involves
making an effort to improve the way I listen, look, understand, talk and think,
about myself, about others, about situations, about the world.
General Semantics provides us with many thinking tools and
evaluation standards -- Tools we can use to review and improve our habitual
ways of thinking about ourselves, about others, about the situations we find
ourselves in, and about the world we live in. , M. Dawes/03
