The Secrets of Developing Creative Thinking Skills : Part 2

"Few people think more than two or three times a year. I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a week."-George Bernard Shaw

The problem is knowing where to start. If you say to yourself as you look at your reflection on the mirror, there I am, at least, I think I am alive and still good looking; you start with a rather shaky premise. Or if you try to go on from there to try to understand everything around you in terms of your own being, you will end up with a system of thought which may well be brilliant but will certainly be inadequate. The secrets of developing creative thinking skills starts with these practical, often neglected, habits:

• Reading. Read a good book that inspire, like an unabridged biography of one of history’s great leaders or popular personality. Better yet, self-help books like the popular Seven Habits by Highly Effective People written by Stephen Covey or a book on reflections on various topics by any of your favorite theologian or philosopher. Better yet, read anything under the sun. Reading stimulates the brain. A wide reader is always ready to present new ideas and is better in arguments.
  

• Writing your thoughts. Write notes anywhere about what you have thought to be of something of importance or value. I have a collection of notes stacked in my drawers which I find delightful and refreshing to read form time to time. These musings where sometimes written in dog-eared pieces of newspaper I’ve read in the past, MCDonald’s’ cheeseburger wrappers or table napkins, chocolate and candy wrappers, and the like. If you’ve come across into a good quote that inspire or is amusing, write it down. It pays to carry a little notebook that easily fits in one of your pockets. Don't forget a pen, of course. ^_^
  

• Observing people. How they talk, behave, dress, eat, react to situations, etc, and make mental notes which you can transcribe later in a paper, better yet write them down immediately. Good thoughts come from these observations, and writing them down, preserve them for life. Not only of people, observe life and everything that is happening around you.

• Listening to others. By the way, even fools have something worthwhile to say. Caution though, don’t argue with them.

• Exchanging ideas with sensible people who can stimulate you to think creatively. Challenge their way of thinking in positive way or in a constructive criticism. Sometimes, your thoughts deserve a hearing. Although, I must admit, sometimes they don’t. Anyway, learn when to express your opinions. Do not simply agree or disagree, be ready to defend them. Robert Frost aptly said: "Thinking is not agreeing or disagreeing. That's voting."
  

Related posts:

• Secrets of Developing Creative Thinking Skills: Part 1
• 7 Steps to master the Art of Listening
• Delete it!