Gidday friends,

This week my Newsletter will take a different form.

As a writer of FREE content, I want to make these Newsletters valuable, worthwhile, easy to engage with, and most importantly, actionable for you for you every day, week, and month!

Small changes implemented turn into massive changes before you know it.

Take each day, and add one more action and you will see the difference over time.

The impact on your mind, and subsequently on the way you speak, listen, learn, and hold yourself will also impact those who love you and interact with you in immense ways.

From today, I will layout the letter as ‘Trilogy of Thought’, which are three new ideas from me to get those synapses going.

• Thought 1: A CT idea discussed in an original way

• Thought 2: An attractive quote or two for reflection

• Thought 3: A CT action/s to implement

THOUGHT 1

Topic: ‘How to get others to think critically’.

So many people ask me how to actually get people to think critically.

As we know, it can be incredibly frustrating talking to someone, particularly if they are a family member, someone close to you or someone you need to interact with, who is an absolutist, rigid, and unwilling to change their thinking despite how problematic it is.

Now… to begin, there are a few cognitive steps you need to take to assume the role of a critical thinker when entering into conversations.

You may have already become great at this, but even though I teach it, write critical scientific articles, read and write about it everyday, my human tendency for egocentrism means, I still need a good reminder as often as possible.

I try and make sure I let the world humble me! Believe it or not the best way to remain humbled is to let the people who know you best to criticise you. Your parents, cousins, and friends may annoy you, but know this—they exist for a reason.

Vow humility. Or your human weaknesses WILL rear their ugly head too often.

Anyway, the critical thinker first reflects on the following before entering a difficult convo:

Step 1:

• Have you accepted the universal concept, that other people have the right to subjective belief, just as you have the right to subjective belief?

• Have you thought about how these thoughts come about for people or that subjective belief may give that person life meaning, purpose, or personal fulfilment?

• Are you willing to change your mind if the information provided gives you reason to do so?

• Is this person, and the topic worth the time you will invest in debating it?

Once you have those out of the way, make sure you are attempting to be a good conversational role model by not participating in absolutism yourself. This one is hard BTW!

People mimic and role model those who hold themselves well in conversations, so be that person and they will follow.

So, how do you get someone to think critically?

The art is in persuasion my friends.

Step 2: Ask really good questions.

You will only be able to persuade someone to think differently based on the quality of your questioning skills, as this is what triggers people to reflect.

Reflection is the place where people come up against themselves. This is where you want to lead them.

You will never change someone’s mind if you are determined to win or if you lose emotional control of the situation.

Then it just becomes a tit for tat instead of a productive discussion or debate.

BUT if instead you are determined to learn and allow people to learn together, united in the human journey then, perhaps you have a chance.

A very good seminal (great word!) book to teach you some of these skills is Aristotle’s, The Art of Rhetoric, introduces many concepts…but for now I will focus ethos, pathos, and logos.

Once you practice, these fundamentally valuable concepts will help you to persuade human beings ethically, logically and with emotional awareness. You should NEVER try to convince through manipulation or force.

The latter, we are seeing as a society lately, where people who have poor CT skills expect information obedience despite a lack of knowledge merit or persuasive ability. You do not want to make someone think something through force, the repercussions are dangerous and cause revolt. IT IS NOT GOOD.

Anyone is meritable who knows and renders transparent the limits of their knowledge ethically.

Ethos—is where you skilfully appeal to the universal ethic of being human. For example, you may provide a case where it would make the other person look unethical if they were to disagree with a universally ethical point you have provided. It is how you place language around it which is the skill however.

(Better articulation BTW comes with reading, and writing which helps us practise ideas we think outwardly).

Pathos—is where you skilfully appeal to human emotions. Those who have higher emotional intelligence (EI) are often very good at reading, and understanding the emotions of others’ and therefore able to make points which connect. Read more on increasing EI here.

Logos—is where one uses logic, and reason which is especially effective in persuading people to agree, or at least trigger intelligent introspection, especially where it is difficult to provide a counter argument.

TIP: If you do not have enough information to support your ‘opinion’, control your absolutism on the matter. If you’re causing division, you are doing it wrong.

Remember, it is the language, and tone you use which also determines the way in which the interaction will go.

THOUGHT 2

QUOTES

“Only during hard times do people come to understand how difficult it is to be master of their feelings and thoughts” (Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright and physician).

As I hear stories, I observe that it is those who have truly seen darkness, somehow make it to a place they can finally call halt on cognitive distractions and finally, because of no other choice, face themselves.

This place, where darkness lives, calls all of you. It hates you so much that the only way out is up, because further down you will simply be in the grave.

It is a quote which pushed me to think about that fact that unless you have seen true darkness you will never have a reason to do the mind work needed to survive cognitively.

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass” (Anton Chekhov).

This quote triggers a lot of reflection in me. It brings my attention to the many overtly, obvious beautiful things easily noticed due to unobstructed access. But it is the speckles of beauty, easily missed, which grace people or things which may seem imperfect, unpolished, or wounded. Illustrations of light are complex, and can be textured beautifully when reflected from a piece of broken glass. It looks different, but perhaps even more beautiful.

THOUGHT 3

Activities to implement to improve your thinking skills:

1.    Look up any words or concepts I used which you do not quite understand.

2.    Reflect on the quotes and what they could mean and what they mean to you.

3.    Read Aristotle’s book: The Art of Rhetoric.

You can buy this book NOW via my affiliate link by clicking here:

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Reading Tips:

Do not read books to finish them. Read to ignite the sleeping mind.

HOW: Read the book as though you’re doing a short-course.

Who says courses are made only by other people. This right here is learning how to learn!!!!

As you read an exciting new concept, your synapses will fire up and you will feel excited, motivated, angry, frustrated, annoyed or resistant.

It is in that moment, you must pause to reflect why this new idea made you feel those emotions.

Connect the thought with other information you already hold.

Think about how this concept explains phenomena in your life now.

Use the book as a journal.

Reading and writing simultaneously is the most powerful act you can ever participate in for cognitive enlightenment, and self-healing and intellectual awakening. Write in the margins, place words around feelings.

Highlight words, and sentences which stand out. Look up a new word or idea right then and there not later. You have more chance remembering and using it if you learn it in context.

You may never look at those notes again, but you engaged in a deep learning experience as you were reading—this is enough.

As you read any idea which challenges your thinking, these are the moments you must exploit. Lean into these moments, and do not let it pass. If you don’t, you WILL become smarter, more articulate, and a better thinker.

And… as an accidental by-product, you will become a better writer and over time, the more you read in this way, deeply enlightened and liberated from your deepest fears and insecurities.

Stay tuned for the Sunday Synapse, which will be delivered to your inbox every Sunday! Get ready to take on a new week better than you were last week!

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Until next Sunday, take care.

Dr. Esha.