As human beings, we have the capacity to think, in the sense that we can, at a purely intellectual level, conceptualize and discriminate between right and wrong, good and bad. Animals, on the other hand, are governed by their instincts. The ability to think and plan a course of action is unique to human beings. Animals have no need to do this and are not liable to err, for their actions are governed by their natural instincts.
Since human beings are endowed with the ability to decide on a course of action (and cannot, in reality, do otherwise), it is necessary for everyone to fully awaken their senses and bend their mental faculties to the right way of thinking. Once we start thinking right, our actions will consequently be right. This article enumerates and explains some of the essentials of right-thinking.
Think Positive
Right-thinking is an art. Those who have learned the art can construct a successful life in this world. Those who are oblivious to it have nothing but failure in store for them.
To put it briefly, this art can be described as ‘positive thinking’. That is, keeping an open mind, so that we can rise above the psychology of reaction or retaliation and plan objectively, after having arrived at rational conclusions. If positive thinking gives us the direction to use our intellectual capacity, negative thinking acts as a check upon the development of that intellectual capacity. Those who have a tendency towards negative thinking think and plan only under the influence of external situations, which may or may not be particularly good. Right-thinking leads us to progress and development. Wrong-thinking leads us in the opposite direction.
All discoveries are made solely by thinking. They are not things that you stumble upon. Think, and you will discover the answers to everything.
Humans are social beings. We cannot survive by ourselves. We need each other to sustain our needs. We are all, in one way or the other, indispensable to each other. In such a situation, reacting negatively is never beneficial. Success will come only to those who respond positively, even in negative situations.
Discover by Thinking
It is a fact that all of our activities are governed by our minds. We first think, then act. If we think right, our actions are right. If we do not think right, our actions will not be right. Right-thinking leads to making the right beginnings, and the right beginnings lead to the right results. When an apple falls from a tree, it always falls straight down. This has been so since the beginning of time. But people took this falling for granted. They probably felt that there was nothing to it to think about. What was happening was what should be happening. No one thought to question why.
Sir Isaac Newton, like the story goes, was probably the first person to think about this phenomenon. Why did the apple fall to the ground? Why did it fall? Why did not it go up? Unusual thoughts, but they helped Newton arrive at the conclusion that the earth exerted a force on the apple. He proceeded to discover the laws of gravity.
In a similar way, for millennia, people believed that the earth was flat. This theory appeared to be true as far as anyone could see. Therefore, it was held to be an established fact. Standing on the coast, if you watch the horizon for ships, you will first see the masts of any ship. As the ship comes closer, the mast rises up until the entire ship is visible. The ship seems to have risen from below the horizon. Think about this phenomenon.
If the earth was flat, the entire ship would have appeared in the distance. The entire ship would have been visible as a speck on the horizon that became clearer as the ship came closer. But only the masts of the ships were visible at first. The earth is obviously not flat, as we can see for ourselves. This is how the ancient Greeks learnt that the earth is not flat.
Right-thinking leads us to progress and development. Wrong thinking leads us in the opposite direction.
The truth is that all discoveries are made solely by thinking. They are not things that you stumble upon. Think, and you will discover the answers to everything.
Learn from Experience
Another important principle of right-thinking concerns our ability to control our minds. This enables us to derive lessons from the various incidents we experience. The readiness to learn lessons from our experiences, and those of others, helps us in intellectual development and saves us from unnecessary loss.
Life is a series of experiences. If our eyes and ears are open and receptive, we can always derive useful lessons from them. These lessons enable us to construct our lives better. Acquire a receptive and open mind, and develop the ability to learn from experience, both your own, and that of others.
Distinguish
An important aspect of the art of thinking is to be able to distinguish between things which, on the surface, appear to be similar, but on a deeper level, are radically different. There are a number of things in this world which fall into this category, and our failure to understand the difference often results in great loss.
At every point in our lives, we are faced with a choice—between courses of action; between opinions; between ideas. This can be related to all matters in our daily life. We must refrain from forming opinions due to apparent or partial similarities. We must clearly analyze the difference between things and then form our opinions. Anyone who fails to comprehend this wisdom is like a driver who fails to differentiate between an empty street and a street full of traffic.
It is our level of thinking which determines success or failure. Success is the result of right-thinking. Think right, do right, and succeed.
Adjust
We are all born idealists. We constantly seek higher ideals, the highest and best in all spheres. This idealistic approach sounds good in theory, but is destructive in the long run. The reason is that we do not live our lives alone. Everyone’s interests, considerations and choices vary. Everyone has a personal, unique view of what is good, bad, and ideal. Owing to this state of affairs, the achievement of the personal ideal is impossible. The only practical solution is to adopt the policy of adjustment with others. We must avoid all friction by ignoring obvious provocation, for trouble avoided is trouble averted.
Ignore Provocation
Conflicts and quarrels have always been a feature of human society. That is not to say that there is no escape from this deplorable situation. It depends solely upon the concerned individuals whether they entangle themselves in such conflicts or manage to keep themselves away. This holds true for individuals as well as for nations.
Most quarrels start with verbal exchanges that grow heated. People overreact and become hostile to each other. Their retaliatory thinking often results in full-fledged enmity. Negative action is the result of negative thinking.
Negative activities should be countered in a positive manner. The best principle to follow is that whenever you encounter an unpleasant situation; think carefully before speaking or acting. Verbal exchanges can snowball into more serious conflicts. If something poses a real threat, it must be taken seriously. You should make every effort to solve the problem at hand, but confine yourself to resolving it by discussing it. Even if your feelings are hurt, there is no real harm, only imaginary harm. And reacting on imaginary grounds would not be wise. Learn to exercise restraint and ignore provocation.
Instead of wasting your time being provoked into fighting, you should stick to the path of positive action and avoid negative action.
Think Out of the Box
To think out of the box is to think differently, unconventionally, and from new perspectives. You are not limited to thinking in terms of black and white. There are grey areas in between. Better options exist. And thinking out of the box will lead you to these better options. For instance, if someone says something hurtful to us, we tend to become angry and quarrel with the person responsible. We sometimes feel that if we do not react to the insult, it shows cowardice, while fighting back would be considered brave.
But this is the result of wrong-thinking. The truth is that in this situation, there is a better option—the way of avoidance. Instead of wasting your time being provoked into fighting, you should stick to the path of positive action and avoid negative action. There is a saying that illustrates this better option—“Dogs may bark, but the elephant goes on”.
This is not just a matter of morality. It is in fact an important part of life’s reality. There are different types of people in this world. That is why we are confronted with unpleasant experiences. If we are provoked by every unpleasant experience, we will fail to devote ourselves to any worthwhile goal. Time and resources in this world are limited. We cannot afford to spend these precious things on ‘teaching someone a lesson’, or on retaliation, or other such negative actions. The price we pay for these futile engagements is our own progress and development.
Hold Yourself Accountable
We are not machines controlled by some sort of system, nor are we animals, governed only by instincts. We enjoy freedom. We make decisions and take action of our own free will. The question is how to make sure we make the right decisions and take the right action.
History shows the ineffectiveness of all worldly measures in this connection—whether social pressure, law enforcement or reformation. It is not possible for people on their own to bind themselves to moral values or to adhere to justice. This is possible only when they are convinced that they are under a watchful gaze of a superpower—a living and powerful God who is perfect and just.
The concept of a living and powerful God is necessarily accompanied by the concept of accountability. God is just, and each one of us is answerable to Him for our actions. This guarantees that we think right, and do right. This, in turn, gives us the conviction that we will receive God’s eternal reward if we always think right, and do right.
The truth of the matter is that it is our level of thinking which determines success or failure. Success is the result of right-thinking. Think right, do right, and succeed.
