“Why is thinking never tried?” ~ Henry Higgens (My Fair Lady)
If ever there was a time to think better, it is now.
The emergence of AI has brought a festering issue to a head. The early studies are in, and what we all suspected turns out to be true – the more we rely on AI, the less with think. The less we think, the stupider we become.
One study demonstrated that the more confident knowledge workers were in using A.I. the less confident they were in their own ability to think critically. (1)
Several other studies have noted the inverse relationship between reliance on A.I. and critical thinking. (2)
To put it bluntly, the more we rely on A.I., the stupider and less capable we become.
While AI has brought the issue to a head, it is but one expression of a deeper and more significant trend – the unset of the Age of Turmoil
The Age of Turmoil
Rapid, discontinuous change is disrupting our lives and ushering in the Age of Turmoil. In the year 1900, the total amount of information available to mankind was doubling every 500 years. One hundred years later, in the year 2000, the pace of information-creation had multiplied, and it was doubling every two years. Think of a bell-shaped curve charting the amount of information available in the world. The curve would be going almost straight up. And today, the best estimates are that the total amount of information available to mankind is doubling at least every 30 days.
This increase in information drives innovation and causes change. New information seeps into every area of our life and our businesses and wreaks havoc. Since the growth in the amount of information is unprecedented, so is the rate of change. We’re seeing entire industries being disrupted, products and processes coming and going in the figurative blink of an eye.
Not only is the pace of change unprecedented, but so is the depth of change. It’s one thing to accept a new technology, it’s quite another to see a dramatic shift in cultural values. We are seeing values, morals and core beliefs crumble in the onslaught of change. For example, you may recall that former president Obama, in his first term, opposed gay marriage. Within a few years the federal government began advocating for transgender inclusion. That represents a change in core values – but it is only one of many such challenges to values which have stood for thousands of years.
The Age of Turmoil is uprooting the infrastructure of much of what we have built our lives upon.
The knowledge and skills that we have relied upon to get where we are will likely no longer suffice.
If we are going to survive, much less thrive, in the Age of Turmoil, we’ll need to think better.
Thinking Better
Critical thinking is the most important of all our human skills, underlying and supporting or ability to live and make decisions. One of the basic truths to human existence is this: When we think better, we do better.
In the short term, we make better decisions, we operate intentionally instead of habitually. We are more focused and more proactive. If there is one universal prescription for doing better and living a more fulfilled life, it would be ‘think better.”
Individually, the better we are at critical thinking, the better will be our decisions and the fuller and more satisfying will be our lives. Good thinking underlies every decision we make and every action we take, whether on the job or in our personal lives, whether individually or within the organizations in which we work. It is like water to a garden. Provide it lavishly and everything thrives. Diminish it and everything withers.
Consultant Ben Heirs observed, “The one feature that all the most successful organizations I have been concerned with have shared is, quite simply, the ability to think better than their rivals.”
In my own work with salespeople, sales leaders and chief sales officers, I have often noted that the best and most successful among them simply think better than the rest. Much of my work for decades has been to help people think better.
Long term
In the long term, our thoughts ultimately determine much of what we experience in life. We don’t think about how we think, and we should. Our ability to think fuels everything.
The decisions we make arise out of our thoughts. From simple, daily decisions, like should you have oatmeal or eggs for breakfast — to complex decisions – who to marry, which home to buy, and which job to take.
When we think better, we do better. We perform better on the job and we act out of intention.
Be careful of how you think.
Your thoughts lead to your actions.
Your actions repeated become habits.
Habits turn into character.
Character determines your destiny.
This is hardly news. Wise people from every generation have recognized that basic truth.
* Marcus Aurelius said: The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.
* The Apostle Paul recognized the role of thoughts when he said: Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
* Dale Carnegie said: Our thoughts make us what we are.
And yet
And yet, very few of us ever think about how we think. Only a scarce handful of people intentionally strive to think better.
“Most people would rather die than think. In fact, they do.” ~ Bertrand Russell
What now
Once we become aware of a need or a problem, we need to do something about it. Here’s a baby step: Recognize issues that call for better thinking.
You don’t need to think hard about everything. Some things are better managed by using habit or intuition. Most of life’s decisions are minor – should you stop at McDonald’s or Burger King? Should you order your coffee with cream or not?
The first challenge then is to sort out those decisions that would benefit from thinking better. Let’s think of three classes of thinking ‘opportunities.”
The first is the superficial, day-to-day stuff that isn’t very consequential. Let’s call them “simple” or “trivial” situations. Should you see this movie or that one? Should you call your mother today or tomorrow? Trivial situations are easily handled with habit and emotion.
Moderate situations are of consequence but aren’t life-altering. Think, for example of having a somber conversation with your teenager, writing a serious email to a colleague, or taking part in a regular team meeting. These “opportunities” can often be enhanced with intentional thinking tools and tactics.
Then there are consequential decisions that call for the full-on better thinking. . These are complex, sophisticated decisions, the consequences of which can impact a person’s life or an organization’s future. Deciding who to hire, buying a home, or deciding which job to take are examples.
Just becoming aware of the typical consequences of a thinking opportunity will go a long way to enabling you to think better and therefore, do better.
********************************************************************
Excerpted and adapted from Menta-Morphosis: Unleash the power of mind software to think better, excel in your career and live fuller. By Dave Kahle
Related Resources
