A Brief Encouragement to Critical Thinking

We are thinkers and doers. Our doing must be informed and evaluated by our thinking. Otherwise, it is, by definition, thoughtless.

We are also led by thinkers and we are leaders as well.

Most of our unwise actions can be traced to unwise thinking.

We can and should criticize leaders. Whatever our or their affiliations/convictions, I believe they all believe most of them want what is best for the country. Granted, we all have a mix of motivations — some of which we are not aware. 

Perhaps my time could be best spent praying for them, encouraging them to do their best, and believing that they will look each other in the eye and see the best in one another on the road to agreement.

At the same time, I have my own challenges and so do you.

How about your own decision making challenges?

What about your need to lead?

Every day we must wrestle with questions of  truth, integrity, and credibility. I have used the THINK acronym before. I think it is time to pull it out again.

How to Think Critically and Strategically

T

Topic – We must have something to think about.

Technique – We must cultivate processing skills.

Timeliness – We must think in the context of our times.

H

Hours – It takes time to think strategically.

Honesty - With truth as the object, brutal honesty is required.

Holistic – Our thinking must embrace multiple concerns.

I

Intellect – Thinking always engages the mind. Mental capacity must be nurtured.

Integration – Ideas, convictions, and paradoxes must be incorporated in the stew.

Inspiration – The spiritual dimension is necessary. The Spirit illumines our thinking.

N

Negation Mechanism – We need to weed out irrelevancies.

Need-Based – We are thinking in order to solve a problem.

Next – Strategic thinking takes us to the next level.

K

Knowledge – It is primarily a tool more than an outcome.

Koinonia - Fellowship is seen in collaborative thinking.

Kerygma – It must come under the authority of ultimate truth.

I have a longer version of this and a webinar to go with it, but I think you can take it and do something with it --- if you THINK about it.