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25 Days to Better Thinking and Better Living
There is nothing we do as humans that does not involve our thinking. Our thinking tells us what to believe, what to reject, what is important, what is unimportant, what is true, what is false, who are our friends, who are our enemies, how we should spend our time, what jobs we should pursue, where we should live, who we should marry, how we should parent. Everything we know, believe, want, fear, and hope for, our thinking tells us.
It follows, then, that the quality of our thinking is the primary determinant of the quality of our lives. It has implications for how we go about doing, literally, everything we do.
Therefore, learning to think at the highest level of quality, or to think critically, is too important to leave to chance. Critical thinking is the disciplined art of ensuring that you use the best thinking you are capable of using in any set of circumstances. Through developed critical capacities, you can take command of the thinking that is commanding you.
Becoming a critical thinker requires that you learn to observe, monitor, analyze, assess, and reconstruct thinking of many sorts in many dimensions of human life. It requires the building of important habits of mind. It has implications for every act that takes place in your mind. It requires a special form of dedication and perseverance, honesty and integrity. It can be done only if taken seriously and pursued throughout a lifetime.
This book will show you how to use your mind to improve your mind. Each of the ideas in it can help you take command of the mind that is controlling your thoughts, emotions, desires and behavior.
Our hope is not in a miracle transformation, but in laying a foundation for your future intellectual and emotional growth. We are merely scratching the surface of deep and complex topics. We do not provide a quick fix, but rather places to begin. When you begin to take your intellectual growth seriously, you begin to see payoffs in every part of your life.
But first, you must wake your mind up. You must begin to understand your mind. You must begin to see when it is causing you problems. You must begin to see when it is causing others problems. You must learn how to trap it when it tries to hide from itself (using one of the many forms of self-deception of which it is naturally skilled). You must discover some of the trash and nonsense you have unknowingly taken in during years of passive absorption - to which all of us are subject. This book will show you how to begin.
Editorial Reviews
“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 better person 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
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