Socratic Life

How can a parent help program their children while they are young so that we can enable them to succeed?

In thinking about and researching this question that was posed to me by a pupil, I found a few things that help create success in not only children but everyone.

1) A sense of wonder and curiosity

Children are naturally curious; almost everything in the world is new to them. From a worm slowly crawling across the sidewalk to jets flying through the sky. If you look at yourself and times gone by you were probably just as curious about everything as the next child. It seems that at some point in our lives we lost that curiosity. Now we seem to rush to get everything done. We rush to get our kids to the babysitter. We rush to get projects done for our bosses. Through all of this rushing we have pushed out our natural curiosity. Somewhere we have unlearned curiosity.

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.” – Albert Einstein

Sometimes in our lives things become hectic and we stifle the desire for our children to learn. It is up to us to reaffirm and build their desire. It is up to us to help our children to be curious and learn from everything that is around them.

I found some great suggestions on http://www.babycentre.co.uk to help open our children exercise their creative tendencies.

2) Self discipline

All children misbehave at some point when they are young. This is part of finding out what appropriate behavior is and where they can stretch the limit to. The list of things that a child will do to test boundaries is only limited by their imaginations. The purpose for discipline is helping them to understand self control, a sense of limits and clear expectations for appropriate behavior. Sometimes we take this misbehavior as a personal insult. We believe that our children are trying to push our buttons and directly challenge our authority. Sometimes this may be the case but the reasoning behind this behavior is still to test boundaries and should not be taken personally. When we take these things personally we lose our temper and our own behavior becomes inappropriate thus enabling our children’s bad behavior.

“In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves… self-discipline with all of them came first.” -Harry S. Truman

How can we stop this cycle and teach our children where the expectations and limits are and enable their own sense of self?

If you want considerate, cooperative, and flexible children, you should be their model. There are many styles of discipline. We all need to take a look at how we do this and what we can improve.

“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” – James Baldwin

There is a wonderful article written about this subject by Anita Gurian, Ph.D. and Robin F. Goodman, Ph.D. on http://www.aboutourkids.org

3) Good social skills

Studies have shown that children with positive social skills are more likely to succeed in school and in life. On the other end of the spectrum children with poor social skills tend to act out, show aggressive and violent behavior and generally can’t express themselves in an appropriate format.

Some of the things that children can learn at a young age to help develop good social skills are sharing, taking turns, expressing feelings appropriately, showing concern for others and learning to play. These may seem like very basic behaviors that should come naturally, but they are all things that we can all learn to do better.

A great source of information to give you ideas that will help you teach your children social skills can be found at http://extension.oregonstate.edu

“Developing excellent communication skills is absolutely essential to effective leadership. The leader must be able to share knowledge and ideas to transmit a sense of urgency and enthusiasm to others. If a leader can’t get a message across clearly and motivate others to act on it, then having a message doesn’t even matter.” – Gilbert Amelio

4) Family involvement

Several studies indicate that children are more successful in every area that their parents are involved in. Parents and families are the children’s first teachers. Just think about how many things that a child learns at home without the benefit of formal school. According to studies parental involvement at home and school boosts educational effectiveness and promotes all aspects of school rediness including math and language skills, motivation and social skills.

“The school will teach children how to read, but the environment of the home must teach them what to read. The school can teach them how to think, but the home must teach them what to believe.” – Charles A. Wells

The Michigan department of education has a great paper on what research says about parent involvement in children’s education. http://www.michigan.gov

Parenting is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. What better way to promote children’s development than to invest yourself in learning how.

Think About your Goal

Reality is first created in the mind. In fact, everything we created in our life (Positive or Negative) is initially thought about first. The mind is so powerful in that sense, that we can literally achieve anything we want by just focusing on it. However, in most cases we are controlled by our mind, telling ourselves stories: I’m not good looking enough, its hard to make money; I can never get this relationship, this house, this career, this life…This are simply stories we keep telling ourselves. So The first step would be to Reclaim the Ownership of our Mind.

This can be done by making goals and believing that we can achieve them.

Base your goals on your ultimate end, not on each step. Focus on the end, not the means. Keep your goals as simple as you possibly can. Keep it all as simple as possible. Write it all down and keep it somewhere, but only do one or two things at a time.

What happens if you don’t feel like doing something that you have committed to yourself that you will do? Think about why you should do it. Then, do something that will inspire your desire to do that thing
as when you were inspired and made the goal in the first place.

Ask yourself “Will reaching this goal” . . .
1. make me happier?
2. make me healthier?
3. make me more prosperous?
5. give me peace of mind?
6. make me more secure?
7. improve my relationships with others?

It seems to be all about the willpower (but when that fails, pump yourself up and re-inspire yourself to accomplish the goal) – pick out something you really want to do. Resolve to accomplish the goal and post goal posters around where you spend a lot of your time.

Pick a small goal to start out with to build self-confidence. Pick something you already do sometimes that you want to make into a habit Do *ONE* goal at a time – keep the process very simple.

Make larger plans for larger goals (getting a degree, etc.) Write down the steps that it will take you to reach larger goals and break these down into manageable steps that you will achieve successfully. Write down every step to accomplish each goal clear through the last step.

Act on your Goal

The longer you wait the more you condition yourself to keep waiting. This is called procrastination. You will forever be known as a “gunna.” One day I’m gunna do that! Yeah, sure you will. Whatever it is that you’re “gunna” do – do it NOW! ~Gary Simpson

If you need help from someone, consult a person who has already accomplished the goal you are setting out to achieve. Change your environment to be conducive to the accomplishment to your goals. Have confidence that you will be able to reach your goal.

It would be best to organize your efforts in a calendar writing down what you wish to do and when. Schedule times to work on your goals. Make time or you won’t make the goal

Learn to gracefully say “no” to others

Find the information sources you need to learn all you can about your goal.

Pick a positive phrase to tell yourself throughout the day: “I am thankful that I only eat good food.”

Welcome mistakes/failures. Failure is an important part of your successes. Good habits take time. Be persistent and consistent and diligent. Pray about your goals and involve a higher power. Daily prayer will invite the “higher powers” help.

Recognize and celebrate your successes

Come up with some kind of reward system where you reward all good progress. There are many great opportunities in life to celebrate, but a reaching a goal such as a completing the payoff of a debt is a big deal. It comes at the end of a long, hard struggle to push down the balance and, if you’re lucky, pay it off early.

I would recommend reading the 6 part Self Discipline series for more tips on goals and goal setting.

1) Self Mastery and Discipline
2) Self Discipline: Acceptance
3) Self Discipline: Willpower
4) Self Discipline: Hard Work
5) Self Discipline: Industry
6) Self Discipline: Persistence

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” ~Albert Einstein

 

What is it about the massive gathering of information that makes a person think that they are wise?

Is there more to learning than the gathering of data and memorization of facts?

Where does critical thinking fit in as an infinite process of trying to understand?

What is it that we are trying to accomplish through this understanding?

 

According to Russell Ackoff a system theorist and professor of organizational change, there is a hierarchy of content in the human mind.

 

 

David Moursund mentioned “Data, information, knowledge, and wisdom form a scale, although a rather peculiar scale. The points on the scale are not closely related even though they are often talked about at the same time.

 

Generally I would hesitate to try to convey a thought merely through definition.  I would however like to point out a few key definitions explaining the parts of our thinking system.

 

Data: Factual information (as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation.

Information: Data that are processed to be useful; provides answers to “who”, “what”, “where”, and “when” questions.

Knowledge: Awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation.

Understanding: To understand something is to have conceptualized it to a given measure.

Wisdom: Ability to judge correctly and to follow the best course of action, based on knowledge and understanding.

 

Robert J Sternberg said “I define wisdom as the application of intelligence and experience toward the attainment of a common good. This attainment involves a balance among (a) intrapersonal (one’s own), (b) interpersonal (other people’s), and (c) extrapersonal (more than personal, such as institutional) interests, over the short and long terms. Thus, wise people look out not just for themselves, but for all toward whom they have any responsibility.”

 

My argument is that the gathering of information and memorizing facts is not only not the entire process of learning but merely a first step to true understanding and wisdom.

 

Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting.  ~Edmund Burke

 

The first step past the culmination of information is introspective thinking.  Reflection on ones self. Desire to improve or make a conscious effort to obtain ones best self.

 

He who will not reason is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares not is a slave.  ~William Drummond

 

If one does not perform this type of process, that of critical and introspective reasoning in daily life they are merely a slave to their surroundings.  How can we be otherwise when there is no desire to understand and improve based on our understanding?

 

The step past that of desire to change is to realize that there are parts of oneself that our knowledge and understanding can be applied to.

 

These parts are as follows:

Mental

Emotional

Physical

Spiritual

Social

Financial

 

We realize that the application of our thoughts and knowledge can be applied to each of these different parts.

 

Many of the different organizations and religions throughout the history of time have sought to enlighten oneself through the ability to learn and apply our knowledge to each of these areas.  Please let me point out a few of these groups.

 

Bushido (The way of the samurai)

As Inazo Nitobe defines it: Bushido means literally the military-knight ways – the ways which fighting nobles should observe in their daily life as well as in their vocation; in a word, the precepts of knighthood.

What characterized the samurai and supported their action and knowledge of right and wrong is what we now popularly call the bushido code or the seven virtues of bushido.  Some of the virtues are inspired by the teachings of Confucius and Mencius.

 

Te seven virtues of bushido briefly stated are:

1. GI – Right Action, Duty

do the right thing.

2. YUUKI – Courage

brave, courageous energy.

3. JIN - Benevolence

the benevolence that unites each human being to the other.

4. REI – Politeness or Morality

to have politeness, respect shown in social behavior.

5. MAKOTO – Truthfulness

to follow truly the Law of the Universe.

6. MEIYO – Honor

to enjoy a good reputation, honor.

7. CHUUGI – Loyalty

to act faithfully, to be loyal.

Zen Buddhism

Based on a single, esoteric idea: all humans have a Buddha nature inside them and to realize this nature all a human being has to do is search his or her inner self. The key to Buddhahood in Zen is simply self-knowledge. The way to gain self-knowledge is through meditation (which is what the word “zen” means). Now, “meditation” is one of the cornerstones of Buddhism, where, under the name dhyana , it forms the final and most important aspect of gaining enlightenment. But Zen (in Chinese, Ch’an ) or Meditation Buddhism granted meditation an exclusive importance not ascribed to it in other Buddhist schools. Meditation, which was a means to an end in other Buddhist schools, became the end in itself in Zen: meditation was Truth realized in action. As a result, Zen readily dispenses with the Buddhist scriptures and philosophical discussion in favor of a more intuitive and individual approach to enlightenment. Meditation, however, is a strict religious discipline: the mind must be made sharp and attentive in order to intuit from itself the Truth of Buddhahood. Part of this discipline involves waking up the mind of the disciple, making it aware of the things around it.

Christianity

The Christian life involves a number of different aspects. Among the key ones are

• Fellowship with God

• Our relationships with others

• Obedience to God’s commands

• Discipline

Christianity is about personal relationships: with God and with others. When Jesus was asked to summarize his religion, he said that it was loving God and our neighbor. Everything else is a means to that end. One of the most important terms for Christians is “fellowship”. This term covers our life together as Christians. This means first of all that we spend time together, in worship, educational activities, service to others, and just having fun. In addition to their primary goal, these activities help us get to know each other, and to develop into a community. The Bible refers to the Christian community using organic metaphors, such as a vine and a body. It talks about us sharing with each other and supporting each other.

 

The true test of wisdom is the ability we have to implement that which we have learned.  In looking at the former positions we start to learn that the object of esoteric thought is to gain self understanding and the ability to apply all that we learn.  We can understand why our object will always be self improvement and self mastery.

One who conquers himself is greater than another who conquers a thousand times a thousand on the battlefield. ~Buddha

 

He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still. ~Lau-tzu

 

Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. ~Lau-tzu

Excerpts take from Critical Thinking Handbook: High School on http://www.criticalthinking.org

The Role of Socratic Questioning in Thinking, Teaching, & Learning

One of the reasons that instructors tend to overemphasize “coverage” over “engaged thinking” is that they do not fully appreciate the role of questions in teaching content. Consequently, they assume that answers can be taught separate from questions. Indeed, so buried are questions in established instruction that the fact that all assertions — all statements that this or that is so — are implicit answers to questions is virtually never recognized. For example, the statement that water boils at 100 degrees centigrade is an answer to the question “At what temperature centigrade does water boil?” Hence every declarative statement in the textbook is an answer to a question. Hence, every textbook could be rewritten in the interrogative mode by translating every statement into a question. To our knowledge this has never been done. That it has not is testimony to the privileged status of answers over questions in instruction and the misunderstanding of teachers about the significance of questions in the learning (and thinking) process. Instruction at all levels now keeps most questions buried in a torrent of obscured “answers.”

Thinking is Driven by Questions

But thinking is not driven by answers but by questions. Had no questions been asked by those who laid the foundation for a field — for example, Physics or Biology — the field would never have been developed in the first place. In fact, every intellectual field is born out of a cluster of questions to which answers are either needed or highly desirable. Furthermore, every field stays alive only to the extent that fresh questions are generated and taken seriously as the driving force in a process of thinking. To think through or rethink anything, one must ask questions that stimulate thought.

Questions define tasks, express problems and delineate issues. Answers on the other hand, often signal a full stop in thought. Only when an answer generates a further question does thought continue its life as such. This is why it is true that only students who have questions are really thinking and learning. Moreover, the quality of the questions students ask determines the quality of the thinking they are doing. It is possible to give students an examination on any subject by just asking them to list all of the questions that they have about a subject, including all questions generated by their first list of questions. That we do not test students by asking them to list questions and explain their significance is again evidence of the privileged status we give to answers isolated from questions. That is, we ask questions only to get thought-stopping answers, not to generate further questions.

Feeding Students Endless Content to Remember

Feeding students endless content to remember (that is, declarative sentences or “facts” to remember) is akin to repeatedly stepping on the brakes in a vehicle that is, unfortunately, already at rest. Instead, students need questions to turn on their intellectual engines and they must themselves generate questions from our questions to get their thinking to go somewhere. Thinking is of no use unless it goes somewhere, and again, the questions we ask determine where our thinking goes. It is only when our thinking goes somewhere that we learn anything of value to us.

Deep questions drive our thought underneath the surface of things, force us to deal with complexity. Questions of purpose force us to define our task. Questions of information force us to look at our sources of information as well as at the quality of our information. Questions of interpretation force us to examine how we are organizing or giving meaning to information and to consider alternative ways of giving meaning. Questions of assumption force us to examine what we are taking for granted. Questions of implication force us to follow out where our thinking is going. Questions of point of view force us to examine our point of view and to consider other relevant points of view. Questions of relevance force us to discriminate what does and what does not bear on a question. Questions of accuracy force us to evaluate and test for truth and correctness. Questions of precision force us to give details and be specific. Questions of consistency force us to examine our thinking for contradictions. Questions of logic force us to consider how we are putting the whole of our thought together, to make sure that it all adds up and makes sense within a reasonable system of some kind.

Dead Questions Reflect Dead Minds

Unfortunately, most students ask virtually none of these thought-stimulating types of questions. They tend to stick to dead questions like “Is this going to be on the test?” questions that imply the desire not to think. Most teachers in turn are not themselves generators of questions and answers of their own, that is, are not seriously engaged in thinking through or rethinking through their own subjects. Rather, they are purveyors of the questions and answers of others — usually those of a textbook.

We must continually remind ourselves that thinking begins within some content only when questions are generated by both teachers and students. No questions equals no understanding. Superficial questions equals superficial understanding. Most students typically have no intellectual questions. They not only sit in silence; their minds are silent at well. Hence, the questions they do have tend to be superficial, ill-formed and self-serving. This demonstrates that most of the time they are not thinking through the content they are presumed to be learning. In other words, most of the time they are not learning the content they are presumed to be learning.

If we want to engage students in thinking through our content we must stimulate their thinking with questions that lead them to further questions. We must overcome what previous schooling has done to the thinking of students. We must resuscitate minds that are largely dead when we receive them. We must give our students what might be called “artificial cogitation” (the intellectual equivalent of artificial respiration).

The Art of Socratic Questioning

The art of Socratic questioning is important for the critical thinker because the art of questioning is important to excellence of thought. What the word ‘Socratic’ adds is “systematicity”, “depth”, and a keen interest in assessing the truth or plausibility of things.

There is a special relationship between critical thinking and Socratic Questioning because both share a common end. Critical thinking gives one a comprehensive view of how the mind functions (in its pursuit of meaning and truth), and Socratic Questioning takes advantage of that overview to frame questions essential to the quality of that pursuit.

The goal of critical thinking is to establish a disciplined “executive” level of thinking to our thinking, a powerful inner voice of reason, to monitor, assess, and re-constitute — in a more rational direction — our thinking, feeling, and action. Socratic discussion cultivates that inner voice by providing a public model for it.

The Spirit and Principles of Socratic Questioning

While there are numerous ways in which Socratic Questioning can be effectively executed in the classroom, there are a set of principles, which guide a Socratic dialog. In this section, these principles are laid out in the form of directives.

Teachers Engaged in a Socratic Dialog Should:

• Respond to all answers with a further question (that calls upon the respondent to develop his/her thinking in a fuller and deeper way)

• Seek to understand–where possible–the ultimate foundations for what is said or believed and follow the implications of those foundations through further questions

• Treat all assertions as a connecting point to further thoughts

• Treat all thoughts as in need of development

• Recognize that any thought can only exist fully in a network of connected thoughts. Stimulate students — through your questions — to pursue those connections

• Recognize that all questions presuppose prior questions and all thinking presupposes prior thinking. When raising questions, be open to the questions they presuppose. (See the section on logically-prior questions.)

Teachers engaged in Socratic dialog should systematically raise questions based on the following recognitions and assumptions:

Focusing on The Elements of Thought

• Recognize that all thought reflects an agenda. Assume that you do not fully understand the thought until you understand the agenda behind it. (What are you trying to accomplish in saying this? What is your central aim in this line of thought?)

• Recognize that all thoughts presuppose an information base. Assume that you do not fully understand the thought until you understand the background information that supports or informs it. (What information are you basing that comment on? What experience convinced you of this? How do we know this information is accurate?)

• Recognize that all thought requires the making of inferences, the drawing of conclusions, the creation of meaning. Assume that you do not fully understand a thought until you understand the inferences that have shaped it. (How did you reach that conclusion? Could you explain your reasoning? Is there an alternative plausible conclusion?)

• Recognize that all thought involves the application of concepts. Assume that you do not fully understand a thought until you understand the concepts that define and shape it. (What is the main idea you are putting forth? Could you explain that idea?)

• Recognize that all thought rests upon other thoughts (which are taken for granted or assumed). Assume that you do not fully understand a thought until you understand what it takes for granted. (What exactly are you taking for granted here? Why are you assuming that?)

• Recognize that all thought is headed in a direction. It not only rests upon something (assumptions), it is also going somewhere (implications and consequences). Assume that you do not fully understand a thought unless you know the implications and consequences that follow from it. (What are you implying when you say that? Are you implying that . . . ?)

• Recognize that all thought takes place within a point of view or frame of reference. Assume that you do not fully understand a thought until you understand the point of view or frame of reference which places it on an intellectual map. (From what point of view are you looking at this? Is there another point of view we should consider?)

• Recognize that all thought is responsive to a question. Assume that you do not fully understand the thought until you understand the question that gives rise to it. (I am not sure exactly what question you are raising. Could you explain it?)

Systems and Contexts For Thought

• Recognize that all thought has three possible functions: to express a subjective preference, to establish an objective fact (within a well-defined system), or to come up with the best of competing answers (generated by competing systems). Assume that you do not fully understand thinking until you know which of the three is involved. (Is the question calling for a subjective or personal choice? If so, let’s make that choice in terms of our personal preferences. If not, then, is there a way to come up with one correct answer to this question (a definite system in which to find the answer)? Or, finally, are we dealing with a question that would be answered differently within different points of view? If the latter, what is the best answer to the question, all things considered?)

• Recognize that all thought has emerged within a human context. Assume that you do not fully understand the thought until you understand the context which has given rise to it. (Tell us more about the situation that has given rise to this problem. What was going on in this situation?)

How To Prepare To Lead a Socratic Discussion

One of the best ways to prepare to lead a Socratic discussion is by pre-thinking the main question to be discussed using the approach of developing prior questions. Prior questions are questions presupposed by another question. Hence, to settle the question “What is multi-culturalism?” I should be able to first settle the question, “What is culture?” and, to settle that question, I should be able to settle the question “What is the basis of culture?” that is, “What are the factors about a person which determine what culture he/she belongs to?”

Construct A List of Prior Questions

To construct a list of prior questions, simply write down the main question which you are going to focus your discussion on and then pose a question you would have to be able to answer before you could answer the first. Then take the second question and do the same for it (i.e., determine what question you would have to answer to answer it). Then, continue on, following the same procedure for every new question on your list.

As you proceed to construct your list keep your attention focused on the first question on the list as well as on the last. If you do this well, you should end up with a list of questions which probe the logic of the first question, and hence, a list of questions which are relevant to a Socratic discussion of your first question. During the Socratic dialog, you should loosely follow your list of logically prior questions, using it primarily as a guide for deeply probing the issue at hand.

A Sample List

As an example of how to construct logically prior questions, consider this list of questions that we developed in thinking through a key question intended for use in conducting a Socratic discussion on the question, “What is history?”

• What is history?
• What do historians write about?
• What is the past?
• Is it possible to include all of the past in a history book?
• How many of the events during a given time period are left out in a history of that time period?
• Is more left out than is included?
• How does a historian know what to emphasize or focus on?
• Do historians make value judgments in deciding what to include and what to leave out?
• Is it possible to simply list facts in a history book or does all history writing involve interpretations as well as facts?
• Is it possible to decide what to include and exclude and how to interpret facts without adopting a historical point of view?
• How can we begin to judge a historical interpretation?
• How can we begin to judge a historical point of view?

I resolve that:
I think twice before I speak.
That when I do speak it will be gently .
That my thoughts of others are noble and just and to be cared for.
That I condemn no one.
That I help others help them selves.
That I give encouragement.
That I love beauty and hate vileness.
That I respect all others as myself.
That I develop strength and patience.
That I breathe with deep, healthful thoughts.
That I become filled with knowledge and all experiences.
That I love all of my fellow men and believe in co-operation and sacrifice.
That I will give my life protecting the chastity, innocence and purity of women.

That I have Honor no matter what situation I am in.

Brett Morris

Honor. What does it mean to you? What is the essence of honor in your heart?

Some say that It is the evaluation of a persons trustworthiness and social status based on that persons actions.

Dr. Samuel Johnson defined Honor as having several senses, the first of which is ” Nobility of Soul, magnanimity, and a scorn of meanness”

I am drawn toward the virtues of the Bushido to some up what honor means to me personaly.

• Rectitude (義, gi^?)
• Courage (勇, yuu^?)
• Benevolence (仁, jin^?)
• Respect (礼, rei^?)
• Honesty (誠, makoto or ä¿¡ shin^?)
• Honor (誉, yo^?)
• Loyalty (å¿ , chuu^?)
• Filial piety (孝, kō^?)
• Wisdom (智, chi^?)
• Care for the aged (æ‚Œ, tei^?)

Where in the western tradition has this Honor gone? I guess this is a personal question that each of us must answer for ourselves.

Starting with the knowledge that there are parts of us including mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, social and I am starting to see a place for financial. I have been thinking about the different ways that we can personally improve inside of each of these areas. Is it writing down goals and then hoping to reach them at the end of a time frame that you set for yourself? Is it to be a positive thinker and invite the energy of the universe into your life and hope that you improve? Is it any number of things?”

I would suggest that it takes a very organized an orderly and accountable approach in order to directly improve these areas of your life. The suggestions on the 17 principles of success from Napoleon Hill touch on how to self improve.

1 ) Definiteness of Purpose

2 ) Mastermind Alliance

3 ) Applied faith

4 ) Going the extra mile

5 ) Pleasing Personality

6 ) Personal Initiative

7 ) Positive Mental Attitude

8 ) Enthusiasm

9  ) Self Discipline

10 ) Accurate thinking

11 ) Controlled Attention

12 ) Team Work

13 ) Learning from Diversity and Defeat

14 ) Creative Vision

15 ) Maintenance of sound Health

16 ) Budgeting time and money

17 ) Cosmic Habit force

However they are still almost static. Just sitting there on a page they really don’t do anything for you. Actually nothing can do anything for you. That is unless you have a sincere desire in your heart to change. This brings us to the mighty change of heart that we see in the scriptures. I have found that a mighty change of heart rarely occurs overnight or immediately, but by my definition it is having the energy to choose the right even when you don’t feel like it or even in the face of the adversary. It is an upwards cycle of you doing the best you can even when you have made a mistake. In the LDS faith We promise to have faith, repentance, baptism , holy ghost, endure to the end, search, ponder, pray, have a change of heart, return and report.

It says it well in D+C 109:8 organize yourselves! Prepare every needful thing and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of god. In return we are promised the atonement, the plan of salvation, the scriptures, word of god, revelation, the comforter, being quickened by the spirit and even a renewal of our bodies. In D+C it says that there is a law “irrevocably” decreed that when we obtain any blessing it is by obedience to a law.

Now, what does all of that have to do with self improvement and napoleon hill? Well a few things stick out at me in some of those scriptures. Such as organize yourselves, have a house of learning, a house of order, Search, Ponder, Pray and having a change of heart.

To have a house learning can mean studying the things like we are discussing. Search can mean that while you are learning it can become difficult and you have to search for the answers. Ponder means to think about and self analyze or internalize what we are learning. Having a change of heart means to want to change. It means that you want to change more than you want to………….fill in the blank.

Now I left order and organization out last for a reason. These words are very similar. Let me explain however how they differ. You can be totally organized yet doing things in the wrong order and you may not succeed. In order to Self improve, we must organize ourselves and be more orderly. In order to organize myself usually I write down tasks in a planner and then execute them in the right order. This is very similar to what needs to be done through self improvement. We write down what we want to do. That sounds easy but we must do it in a very specific way.

Going back to the model of Mental, Emotional, Spiritual, Physical, Social and financial, We will write down 2 – 3 things that we want to improve on, but in a very specific way. This way is called APROPOS.

A=Aim. Where are you headed? Where do you want to be? Use Specific Behaviors and dates. How will you know if you have arrived at your destination?

P=Position audit. Where am I now? In relationship to where I want to be? A very clear analysis of my current situation.

R= Resources.What is needed in order for me to reach my aim? People? Money? Specific description.

O= Obstacles and Opportunities. As I start to close the gap of where I am to my goal what will lie in my way and what will be able to help me? How can I forsee roadblocks or tours? What are the consequences with not overcoming the consequences? What are the benefits of taking advantage of the opportunities?

P=Program What is the long term plan to close the gap? 3-5 years

O=Objectives These are the midterm tactics and are for the 1-3 year range

S=Steps What are the action steps needed from now through one year, that are clearly thepath that I shouldtaketo make my goal. This will spell outdates and is the who?, What? Where? Why? and How?

The final section of APROPOS includes a review section that you can record results, your thoughts and feelings. This surprisingly is called a Journal. When I mentioned the return and report, this is where that comes in. We review our action steps at the beginning of the day, week, and month writing down our progress.

As we look at the Mental, Emotional, Spiritual, Physical, Social and financial goals that we have, there is something that we must learn about reality. IT IS FAKE. Really, almost all day long you tell yourself stories that are based on assumptions and judgments. Rarely what we tell ourselves is real at all. You see, usually you let “reality” control your thoughts. You react to events that go on around you and you let yourself become a pawn. This is called the victim story.

Victim Thinking = Victim Behavior =Victim Reality = Victim Thinking = Victim Behavior = Victim Reality->

I mentioned a change of heart. This is where we can apply that. This victim thinking has got to stop in order to reach our goals and ultimately our potentials. This is where you can dramatically improve your lifestyle, your income, your happiness and your way of life.

Now, use your imaginations with me… You are now relieved of having to respond and act like you are expected to. You are now in the reality of “As If” This reality has been given to you by yourself. The reality of “As If” is your potential and is everything that you ever thought you could be or do. It is this reality that we are going to climb onto to make ourselves successful. It is here that we will succeed.

We are going to call this reality “CHAMPION REALITY”. I call it that because It is how champions think.

Champion Reality = Champion Thinking = Champion Behavior = Champion Reality = Champion Thinking = Champion Behavior

When you eliminate in your mind the lies that you tell yourself and replace it with Championship thinking you will quickly realize why this tool is so important.

Once you have learned the tools and have the desire you can now apply.

Let’s say that we are working on the social aspect and have decided that interpersonal communication is what we want to be working on. I say” I am a champion. I am a champion of all things. I am a champion at communication. I can communicate with anyone, anywhere, under any circumstances, because I am a champion.

Now the details are left to ourselves. What do we want to work on? How much self mastery are we willing to work for? These are the things that napoleon hill talks about. But after you read it and it touches you…. You must find away to do it.

You have most likely seen the secret and know all of the rules of positive thinking, affirmations and self-mantras. You may have also read some books by Tony Robbins or Stephen covey. I truly do believe that the way to self improvement is consistently using these techniques to reprogram the structure of your thinking that has become a natural reaction through years of use.

It can be difficult to retrain yourself to be positive even in the face of your environment’s negativity and chaos. Using positive affirmations, visuals and other techniques you can transform your life and develop into whoever you want to be.

Thinking about positive affirmations has lead me to believe that there must also be positive De-affirmation and the realization that you may be doing something that needs to be changed.

Change requires work.

If you are doing something that you want to change and change requires work, you will have to work.

In saying this I bring up one of the most important positive De-affirmations that we can work on.

Procrastination.

If we could overcome this one area, our lives could be transformed at a pace that far outruns our normal strategies and current thinking patterns.

How can we Positively De-affirm?

One of the best ways that we can do this is to Recognize that we have a certain behavior or our thought habits run through a certain pattern. We can then Decide that we want to change this pattern or belief system. After our decision to change we should not continue to beat ourselves up or deliberate on the behavior that we want to change. This is where positive affirmation comes in. We start the process of Replacing our current beliefs and thought patterns.

You must believe that you are no longer a procrastinator.

Say to yourself, I do things efficiently and speedily. I am a very efficient person. I love to work hard. I am an organizer. I do things as soon as the opportunity presents itself. When a task that I have the proper responsibility for shows up, I do it as soon as I can every time! I enjoy finding tasks that make my life cleaner and more positive. You must feel as if you are the hardest worker that there ever was. Think as if you were the most efficient person that has ever existed. You are this person.

You see, usually you let “reality” control your thoughts. You react to events that go on around you and you let yourself become a pawn. This type of thinking has to stop. Remember the “Work” that I talked about? This is it! This is where you can dramatically improve your lifestyle, your income, your happiness and your way of life.

You are now relieved of having to respond and act like you are expected to. You are now in the reality of “As If” This reality has been given to you by yourself. The reality of “As If” is your potential and is everything that you ever thought you could be or do.

You are a doer. You dont even know what “putting something off till later” Means.

You will be surprised at how “reality” starts to fall in line with “As If” .

Here is how this works

Think = Behavior = Reality = Think = Behavior = Reality ——->

Usually, as you can see we let this so called reality rule our thinking. We then bahave or react the way we have so many times before and the way we will continue to unless the cycle is broken.

Now we can break the cycle.

We virtually change our realities. We change our beliefs.

“As If” Reality = New Thinking = New Behavior = “As If” Reality = New Thinking = New Behavior

Think-Act-Be

It is your Socratic Life.

How you think describes who you are.

Excerpts from “the new brain” by Richard Restak, M.D.

“But I think the process of personal dis-integration is furthered by our constant exposure to the media, principally television.” pg. 41

“Civilization is revving itself into a pathologically short attention span” pg. 45

Everywhere I go I can see the effects of media. It seems like everyone has a hand held device that gives some sort of entertainment.

The kid riding a bike? Headphones.

The guy driving a car? Instant messaging on cell phone.

The girl at the dinner table with her parents? Headphones.

I thoughtfully look at the word that Dr. Restak used when describing the media. Personal dis-integration.

Integration is the process of combining incoming information and is one of the functions of the nervous system.

When you are reading a book about let’s say the illiad, and you are using your imagination to actively think about and process what is being read about, you are using your mind. You are using the pathways that have been built when you were a child as you were first learning. These pathways are the very center of our imagination and capability of thought.

You are combining incoming information. This is Integration.

So what is happening when one relies completely on an outside stimulus for “Entertainment?”

You may have your own take on it………..unless of course you are watching t.v, but it seems to me that you are overriding the processes that naturally happen as you day dream, or read a book, or color, or put together a puzzle, or think. When there is no effort on your part to make electricity shoot down those pathways, (thought) then you are completely overriding the system that you use to think.

When this system is overridden and overridden and this outside stimuli is used as a faux Integration it leads to an atrophy of the brain. This stimulus is telling your mind that it has what it needs and you need not come up with anything on your own. Your mind is left completely dormant.

It dis-integrates.

No wonder this society has a short attention span. They are completely reliant on media to think for them.

You can figure the moral out for yourself.

Heres a Hint……… All things in moderation.

I Really like this article.

Have you ever tried to challenge yourself by thinking differently?

…Relative question.

Have you ever tried to challenge your thought activity?

Really look at it and say. Hmmmmmmmm…………

What else is there?