THE AUTHOR K.R.RAVI IS A MANAGEMENT GRADUATE FROM
XLRI JAMSHEDPUR AND SOUTH ASIA’S FIRST DR.EDWARD DE
BONO CERTIFIED PUBLIC TRAINER IN LATERAL THINKING. HE
IS A MUMBAI BASED TRAINER AND CAN BE CONTACTED AT
createravi@hotmail.com and at 22831878
Module - #3 Learn to apply a rich and diverse variety of "Mental Thought Models." Meaning "Think Mental Models" and build an orchestra of brain cognition instruments.
Mental Models? Latticework? Huh? Do what now?
The phrase ‘Latticework of Mental Models’ comes from Berkshire-Hathaway’s Charles Munger, who is a person that has spent most of his life working out ways to, for lack of a better term, think better.
Munger has come to the conclusion that in order to make better decisions in business and in life, you must find and understand the core principles from all disciplines.
In short, learn all the big ideas and how they interrelate and better, more rational thinking will naturally follow.
This is what he calls Elementary Worldly Wisdom, and using his system of Mental Models can help you succeed in almost any endeavor.
Module - #4 Critical Thinking or applying positive thought or conceptual deconstructions to achieve the most possible optimal truth at the time.
http://youtu.be/rsL6mKxtOlQ
Critical Thinking in Everyday Life: 9 Strategies
Most of us are not what we could be. We are less. We have great capacity. But most of it is dormant; most is undeveloped. Improvement in thinking is like improvement in basketball, in ballet, or in playing the saxophone. It is unlikely to take place in the absence of a conscious commitment to learn. As long as we take our thinking for granted, we don’t do the work required for improvement.
Development in thinking requires a gradual process requiring plateaus of learning and just plain hard work. It is not possible to become an excellent thinker simply because one wills it. Changing one’s habits of thought is a long-range project, happening over years, not weeks or months. The essential traits of a critical thinker require an extended period of development.
How, then, can we develop as critical thinkers? How can we help ourselves and our students to practice better thinking in everyday life?
First, we must understand that there are stages required for development as a critical thinker:
Stage One: The Unreflective Thinker (we are unaware of significant problems in our thinking)
Stage Two: The Challenged Thinker (we become aware of problems in our thinking)
Stage Three: The Beginning Thinker (we try to improve but without regular practice)
Stage Four: The Practicing Thinker (we recognize the necessity of regular practice)
Stage Five: The Advanced Thinker (we advance in accordance with our practice)
Stage Six: The Master Thinker (skilled & insightful thinking become second nature to us)
We develop through these stages if we:
| | 1) accept the fact that there are serious problems in our thinking (accepting the challenge to our thinking) and
2) begin regular practice. |
In this article, we will explain 9 strategies that any motivated person can use to develop as a thinker. As we explain the strategy, we will describe it as if we were talking directly to such a person. Further details to our descriptions may need to be added for those who know little about critical thinking. Here are the 9:
| | 1. Use “Wasted” Time.
2. A Problem A Day.
3. Internalize Intellectual Standards.
4. Keep An Intellectual Journal.
5. Reshape Your Character.
6. Deal with Your Ego.
7. Redefine the Way You See Things.
8. Get in touch with your emotions.
9. Analyze group influences on your life.
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Module - #5 At the same time, "Think Positive" and never worry, above all else. "Attitude is a small thing, that makes all the difference" - Sir Winston Churchill.
" takes a clever man to turn cynic and wise man to be clever enough not to." (Quote by - Fannie Hurst)
Positive thinking: Stop negative self-talk to reduce stress
Positive thinking helps with stress management and can even improve your health. Practice overcoming negative self-talk with examples provided.
By Mayo Clinic Staff
Is your glass half-empty or half-full? How you answer this age-old question about positive thinking may reflect your outlook on life, your attitude toward yourself, and whether you're optimistic or pessimistic — and it may even affect your health.
Indeed, some studies show that personality traits like optimism and pessimism can affect many areas of your health and well-being. The positive thinking that typically comes with optimism is a key part of effective stress management. And effective stress management is associated with many health benefits. If you tend to be pessimistic, don't despair — you can learn positive thinking skills.
Understanding positive thinking and self-talk
Positive thinking doesn't mean that you keep your head in the sand and ignore life's less pleasant situations. Positive thinking just means that you approach unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst.
Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information.
If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your outlook on life is more likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you're likely an optimist — someone who practices positive thinking.
The health benefits of positive thinking
Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:
- Increased life span
- Lower rates of depression
- Lower levels of distress
- Greater resistance to the common cold
- Better psychological and physical well-being
- Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
- Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress
It's unclear why people who engage in positive thinking experience these health benefits. One theory is that having a positive outlook enables you to cope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effects of stress on your body. It's also thought that positive and optimistic people tend to live healthier lifestyles — they get more physical activity, follow a healthier diet, and don't smoke or drink alcohol in excess.
Who better than the legendary Theodore Roosevelt to saliently, subtly and succinctly define its power and meaning?
The Woman or Man In The Arena*
"It is not the critic who counts; not the woman nor man who points out how the strong person stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the woman or man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spend themselves in a worthy causes; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if they fail, at least fail while daring greatly...
..so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat... "
*With contemporary edits and modifications to suit what always was... life's reality, historical purists are at liberty to revert to the original version, although we believe (or at worst hope) the original intent transcended the specific gender pronouns used in the text.
Module - #6 - Meditation, Mindfulness, Relaxation and Sleep. Each are different by nature, offering unique benefits critical to on-going health, and thereby cognitive optimization.
Meditation -
20 Scientific Reasons to Start Meditating Today
New research shows meditation boosts your health, happiness, and success!
I started meditating soon after 9/11. I was living in Manhattan, an already chaotic place, at an extremely chaotic time. I realized I had no control over my external environment. But the one place I did have a say over was my mind, through meditation. When I started meditating, I did not realize it would also make me healthier, happier, and more successful. Having witnessed the benefits, I devoted my PhD research at Stanford to studying the impact of meditation. I saw people from diverse backgrounds from college students to combat veterans benefit. In the last 10 years, hundreds of studies have been released. Here are 20 scientifically-validated reasons you might want to get on the bandwagon today:
It Boosts Your HEALTH
1 - Increases immune function (See here and here)
2 - Decreases Pain (see
here)
3 - Decreases Inflammation at the Cellular Level (See
here and
here and
here)
Harvard Health Benefits of Mindfulness
Practices for Improving Emotional and Physical Well-Being
Key Points
- Practicing mindfulness improves both mental and physical health.
- Mindfulness involves both concentration (a form of meditation) and acceptance. Deliberately pay attention to thoughts and sensations without judgment.
- It takes practice to become comfortable with mindfulness techniques. If one method doesn’t work for you, try another.
It’s a busy world. You fold the laundry while keeping one eye on the kids and another on the television. You plan your day while listening to the radio and commuting to work, and then plan your weekend. But in the rush to accomplish necessary tasks, you may find yourself losing your connection with the present moment—missing out on what you’re doing and how you’re feeling. Did you notice whether you felt well-rested this morning or that forsythia is in bloom along your route to work?
Mindfulness is the practice of purposely focusing your attention on the present moment—and accepting it without judgment. Mindfulness is now being examined scientifically and has been found to be a key element in happiness.
Relaxation
10 Health Benefits Of Relaxation
Our Hints - Heart, Immunity, Memory, Stroke, Depression, Decisions, Weight, Acne, Moods, Slow Illness
But while it feels good to conquer the day, in the end, it just simply feels better -- and is more beneficial to your health -- to relax.
Some would argue that stress is our biggest health concern, given that it has been linked to so many other complications, from heart problems to dementia. CBS reported on a small study that examined the role of stress in seizures -- and found that people are often misdiagnosed with epilepsy, when learning helpful relaxation and coping techniques may be a better solution.
Nine Surprising Reasons to Get More Sleep
What difference could an extra hour of sleep make in your life? Maybe quite a lot, experts say. Studies show that the gap between getting just enough sleep and getting too little sleep may affect your health, your mood, your weight, and even your sex life.
If you're getting less than the recommended seven or eight hours of sleep a night, here are nine reasons that you should shut down your computer, turn off the lights, and go to bed an hour early tonight.
1. Better health. Getting a good night's sleep won't grant you immunity from disease. But study after study has found a link between insufficient sleep and some serious health problems, such as heart disease, heart attacks, diabetes, and obesity.
In most cases, the health risks from sleep loss only become serious after years. That might not always be true, however. One study simulated the effects of the disturbed sleep patterns of shift workers on 10 young healthy adults. After a mere four days, three of them had blood glucose levels that qualified as pre-diabetic.
Module - #7 Command the language; requires on-going life-long study of philosophy, linguistics, arts, mathematics, physics, science, logic, poetry and literature, particular suggestions include; John Milton, The Philosopher Kings, Noam Chomsky, Bertrand Russell, Robert Frost, George Orwell amoung others of similar ilk.
"Fashion great words you are wise, Command language: then you will fashion great destinies." TIME...the Book, 2010
Where it All Began
Roots Of Human Thoughts
On the internet and in bookstores, a thousand gurus tout different remedies for human misery. How can we find out which remedies work? We need to consult one of our greatest gurus, the scientific method. Recently we have seen a dramatic upsurge in scientific studies on Positive Psychology and the science of happiness or to put it simply, discovering what makes happy people happy. Fortunately, many of these studies point to specific ways of thinking and acting that can strongly impact our sense of well-being and happiness. The resulting discoveries are enriching the practices of counseling, clinical psychology, psychiatry and life coaching. In these pages, we review the most scientific studies and translate the results into non-technical English.
What is happiness? Although the scientific study of happiness and subjective well-being
(SWB) has thrived over the last 30 years, the concept of happiness has been elusive. In fact, Ed
Diener (1984) advocated the use of the scientific term SWB as opposed to happiness precisely
because of the ambiguities associated with the term “happiness.” SWB has been frequently
operationalized as the subjective evaluation of life as a whole, the presence of pleasant emotions,
and the relative absence of unpleasant emotions (Diener, 1984). As SWB research became
popular in psychological science, some researchers started using the term happiness (e.g.,
Lyubomirsky & Ross, 1997). However, the fundamental question regarding the meaning of
happiness has been examined only rarely (see Wierzbicka, 2004 for this critique).
The main goal of this article is to explore various concepts of happiness using current and
historical dictionaries and speeches (cf. Morling & Lamoreaux, 2008; Simonton, 2003). Just as
our understandings of action (Noguchi, Handley, & Albarracín, 2011), emotion (Pennebaker,
2011), cognition (Semin, 2000; Maass, Karasawa, Politi, & Suga, 2006) and culture (Kashima &
Kashima, 1998) have been deepened by detailed linguistic analyses, we believe that the linguistic
analysis of the term happiness is critical to advance psychological theory and the scientific
understanding of well-being.
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