victoriaa.onyiSo, you want to learn how to start thinking for yourself instead of just relying on the opinions of others to shape your thoughts?
Independent thinkers don’t allow other people’s thinking to become their thinking. They don’t adopt information “as is.”
You’ll need to retrain your brain, and this will take time and effort.
If you’re willing to expend the energy, here’s how to do it in the simplest 5 steps I can come up with.
- Read.
Reading other people’s words exposes you to their thoughts. Expand your mind by listening to what other individuals have to say.
Enlighten your mind by studying philosophy for a start.
- Let Go of your Preconception
Leave them all at the door. Independent thinking is all about getting rid of the ideas you were indoctrinated into believing, or believed because people that you trust believe them, and starting to think for yourself. Stop thinking emotionally, and start thinking rationally. Keep an open mind to all the possibilities. The people who’ve taught you the things that make up your reality may have been right, and they may have been wrong. That’s for you to decide.
- Identify the other argument.
Play devil’s advocate, and challenge your views. Ask yourself, “What if the opposite was true, as well?”
Just because something is one way now, doesn’t mean that it should be that way forever. This will help you become aware of the hypocrisy in your life as well as the lives of others. What DO we know, even? Do we truly KNOW anything?
- Surround Yourself With Open-Minded And Intelligent People
You know the saying “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room”? Although everyone has something that they know and may be able to teach you, the saying is valid. You want to fill your life with people whose intelligence you respect If you’re pursuing knowledge and truth, one of the best things you can do is to surround yourself with others who are on the same journey.
- TRAVEL
Open your mind to different cultures and experiences, and enhance your life experience. Go to different parts of your country, as well as foreign countries. Connect with people. Stay in locally owned hotels. Take public transportation. Go to a local market. Travel like a local. Live, even if it is brief, like someone else. Open your eyes to another world.
