Synopses & Reviews
You are what you think! Take control of your thinking...and start living life to the fullest! In just 25 days, you can discover how to cut through lies, gain insight, and make smarter choices in every area of your life—from work and money to your intimate relationships. Discover how to overcome bad thinking habits caused by self-delusion or out-of-control emotions...clarify what you really want...recognize what you don’t know. Ask the right questions...resist brainwashing, manipulation, and hypocrisy...Avoid worrying, conformism, and blame!
- 25 powerful ways to improve your thinking—and make smarter, better decisions.
- Stop deceiving yourself: Overcome built-in self-delusion, wishful thinking, and worrying.
- Use better thinking to make better decisions at work, at home, and throughout your life.
- Critically evaluate what you’re told by advertisers, politicians, your boss...even your family!
- Quick, practical, easy to use! Includes daily/weekly action plans, progress notes, and more.
Review
Elder and Paul, both specialists in the area of critical thinking, present a 25-step plan for overcoming bad thinking habits and, in turn, improving one’s quality of life. Starting with the premise that faulty reasoning is at the heart of most problems, the authors provide daily exercises that focus on a particular habit. For instance, on day three (integrity), readers are asked to notice contradictions in their behavior and reduce hypocrisy. Strategies for achieving results are given every step of the way; readers are encouraged to keep a journal of daily progress. In its brevity and usefulness to all sectors of the population, this book is recommended for all public libraries.
(Library Journal, 5/1/2006)
Synopsis
Think smarter, live better...in just 25 days! You are what you think! Take control of your thinking...and start living life to the fullest! In just 25 days, you can discover how to cut through lies, gain insight, and make smarter choices in every area of your life-from work and money to your intimate relationships. Discover how to overcome bad thinking habits caused by self-delusion or out-of-control emotions...clarify what you really want...recognize what you don't know. Ask the right questions...resist brainwashing, manipulation, and hypocrisy...Avoid worrying, conformism, and blame!
- 25 powerful ways to improve your thinking-and make smarter, better decisions.
- Stop deceiving yourself: Overcome built-in self-delusion, wishful thinking, and worrying.
- Use better thinking to make better decisions at work, at home, and throughout your life.
- Critically evaluate what you're told by advertisers, politicians, your boss...even your family!
- Quick, practical, easy to use! Includes daily/weekly action plans, progress notes, and more.
""The daily workouts presented in this book, which exercise the intellect and discipline the mind, are a reminder that exercising the brain every day is just as important to our ""quality of life as the physical conditioning of the body."" "-Stephen J. Kopp, Ph.D.,"" President, Marshall University"" " ""This book is an invaluable guide for those individuals who would endeavor to improve the quality of their thinking and thus the quality of their lives. The authors offer specific strategies and standards for self-monitoring and self-understanding, by which one would become not only a better thinker, but a betterperson and a better citizen as well."" "-Dr. Suzanne Borman, Professor, Alliant International University"" " ""This is a high-powered, daily, intellectual meditation for the mind, and thus for the whole person. It furnishes a practical, grounded way to begin to take charge of our lives, one day at a time, in the fullest sense."" "-Dr. Gerald Nosich, Professor, University of New Orleans"" " ""The authors clearly show that critical thinking is not simply an abstract, academic ""exercise, but an engaging process enabling people to be more effective in every aspect ""of life and work. This book gives readers meaningful strategies to improve the quality of their lives."" "-Dr. Steve Atkins, Vice-President for Instruction, Surry Community College"
About the Author
Dr. Linda Elder is President of the Foundation for Critical Thinking and Executive Director of the Center for Critical Thinking, a leading international institute that promotes critical thinking in every domain of human life. An educational psychologist, she has developed an original stage theory of critical thinking development and coauthors a column on critical thinking for The Journal of Developmental Education. She is highly published and has done original research into the relation of thought and emotion and into the stages of critical thinking development. She is a regular keynoter at the International Conference on Critical Thinking, is highly sought after as a presenter, and is a recognized leader in critical thinking.
Dr. Richard Paul is Director of Research and Professional Development at the Center for Critical Thinking and Chair of the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking. He is an internationally recognized authority on critical thinking, with nine books and more than 200 articles on the subject. His views on critical thinking have been canvassed in the New York Times, Education Week, The Chronicle of Higher Education, American Teacher, Reader’s Digest, Educational Leadership, Newsweek, and U.S. News and World Report.
The works of Linda Elder and Richard Paul have been translated into Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese. Translations are underway in Russian, Malay, and Korean. The growing demand for translations into increasing numbers of languages testifies to the emerging international recognition of the importance of critical thinking in human life and work and of the authoritative nature of the contribution of Paul and Elder in the field.
The Foundation for Critical Thinking seeks to promote essential change in society through the cultivation of fair-minded critical thinking, thinking predisposed toward intellectual empathy, humility, perseverance, integrity, and responsibility. In a world of accelerating change, intensifying complexity, and increasing interdependence, critical thinking is now a requirement for economic and social survival. Contact the Foundation for Critical Thinking at www.criticalthinking.org.
Table of Contents
Preface xv
Day One: Learn to Empathize with Others 2
Day Two: Develop Knowledge of Your Ignorance 4
Day Three: Beware of Hypocrisy and Notice Contradictions in Your Life 8
Day Four: Be Fair, Not Selfish 11
Day Five: Know Your Purpose 14
Day Six: Clarify Your Thinking 17
Day Seven: Stick to the Point 20
Day Eight: Question, Question, Question 23
Day Nine: Think Through Implications 26
Day Ten: Get Control of Your Emotions 29
Day Eleven: Take Control of Your Desires 32
Day Twelve: Be Reasonable 35
Day Thirteen: Show Mercy 38
Day Fourteen: Don’t Be a Conformist 41
Day Fifteen: Don’t Be a Top Dog 45
Day Sixteen: Don’t Be an Underdog 48
Day Seventeen: Don’t Be a Worrywart 52
Day Eighteen: Stop Blaming Your Parents 55
Day Nineteen: Don’t Be Brainwashed by the News Media 58
Day Twenty: Don’t Be Bamboozled by Politicians 62
Day Twenty-One: Strive to Be a Citizen of the World 65
Day Twenty-Two: Don’t Get Your Views from TV, Ads, and Movies 68
Day Twenty-Three: Do Something, Anything, to Help Make the World Better 71
Day Twenty-Four: Educate Yourself 74
Day Twenty-Five: Figure Out Where to Go from Here 77
Reading Backwards 79
Daily Action Plan 81
Daily Progress Notes 82
Weekly Action Plan 83
Weekly Progress Notes 84
Recommended Readings to Augment the Strategies 85
Index 87