Thinking Responsibly

Many of the world and personal problems can be narrowed down and identified to a single common denominator, Irresponsible Thinking.

These are thoughts that manifest into a decision, to behavior and ultimately action. Thoughts can be irrational, misinformed, uninformed and emotionally reckless charged accelerants, leading to the creation of bias. Thinking is a serious responsibility that is oftentimes disregarded or just not thought about. Tragically, many simply assume that their thoughts are well organized and developed, or they assume that the information they consumed was already collated, organized, and developed to the point of fact, with more-often-than-not, catastrophic results, not only for themselves, but worse, others.

How fitting, on this the Spookiest and Scariest day of the year, to look at the Haunting Truth.

Here are Four Ways to Think More Responsibly:

1.?????Think About Thinking: Metacognition is purposeful introspection. It is the process of deliberating about why one thinks a certain way or holds a belief they have. Thinking responsibly is about vigilance over thought in the process of determining the veracity of the conclusion. This mandates less time spreading ideas and thoughts to others and more time determining where, why, and how the thoughts germinated for the purpose of examining their degree of accuracy.

2.?????Emotional Agility: The EQIQ Equation: EQ is Emotional Intelligence. IQ is the Intelligence Quotient. Unchecked, the emotional mind wreaks havoc and worse on the rational brain. It is much more difficult to think purely on the merits of the subject when one introduces unnecessary sentiment, feelings, emotions. This is not suggesting the denial of emotion, rather it is recognizing when feelings or emotions are compromising the purity of thought, thus favored outcome.

3.?????Thought Aftermath: Second and Third Order Effects: Thought aftermath is the acute awareness of both collateral damage and collateral good. In this new paradigm of thought, deeper conscientious thinking yields a much greater result while establishing a personal image (persona) of effectiveness and responsibility. And no apologies for the additional affability you will receive.

4.?????Cognitive Distortions: Through the understanding of the brain, your biases, your predispositions, you will recognize the effects of these variables and how they create thought shortcuts which are often not accurate, not rational, and not logical. In a ?previous Mindful Monday entitled ?The Matrix of Cognitive Distortion ?the article explains in detail these persnickety mental biases and the false paths syndrome. Looking inwardly first, through introspectiveness and self-awareness, one gains greater insight outwardly of their environment and situation (Situational Awareness).

For those who want to make a positive and lasting impact on the world remember always, Think Responsibly.