CREATIVE THINKING is the best way for youths to make it in life.
God has
given each and every one of us a marvelous ability to think original and
creative thoughts, yet few of us spend enough time thinking. It is believed
that too many of us hurry through life with our minds preoccupied and
overloaded with the cares of our personal lives. We need to cultivate time for
creative thinking. But creative thinking in solitude is difficult because it
requires several important things.
Discipline:
One must be willing to get alone
and think one subject without getting diverted because of self-defenses,
negative thoughts, fantasies and in confused guilt.
Courage:
One must believe that there are
solutions, answers, ideas and concept that are thinkable.
Hard work:
Thinking creative tots does not
just happen and it requires energy and the willingness to extend that energy on
thoughts. Since it is easier in the short run to live with problems or poor
designs we tend to think of good workable solutions.
Original
thinking:
One must believe that one can
create whole new ideas where those ideas did not formally exist. After an idea
is developed, people often say that the idea is simple and obvious. The fact
is, it is obvious after it has been created so the false impression is formed
that new ideas are easy. Therefore most people think that hard creative
thoughts are unnecessary. However the one who does the original thinking knows
how hard it is and how hard it will be again.
Pen and
paper:
Without committing creative
thought to paper, one can easily lose the thought or chain of thought. When it
is on paper one can look at all the alternatives and write out the expected
results so that it is not just fantasy or wasted day dream.
An action
plan:
This last idea of developing an
action plan helps one see the flaws and brings much reality to light regarding
the idea.
The common activities that we
use to fill our mind and solitude are reading, praying, listening, observing or
copying already existing ideas. These are all fine these are all fine,
positive, life-giving activities but would encourage each and every one of us
to add more to the creative act of thinking.
Think about
your own life and what you really would like to do, to make, to try, to change
and to develop. Think about your relationship with your family, your needs,
friends, teachers, opportunities, threats and strengths that you have that
require attention and creative solutions. Think about your school, your church,
your neighborhood, your support groups and your world. And of course. Think
about your work and the hundreds of opportunities for improvement in the
quality and quantity of services or products you are producing.
It is
generally in solitude that we drink from the deepest will of God’s love,
forgiveness, mercy and grace. It is in solitude of our minds that we can
assemble our enormous capabilities of focus on a single person, an
organization, or on a task. It is in solitude that we do most of our reading,
thinking and creating. In this solitude that we learn from God to live a life
of creativity, peace and self-discipline, which in turn ironically leads us to
the full rich life that Christ, offers to us.
The choice is ours. We can use our solitude
for self-indulgence, to berate others in the privacy of our minds, for
character destruction. Or we can use our solitude as an opportunity to learn of
God and be open to his voice. Solitude is simply an opportunity to choose to
live more deeply and fully or the other way round.
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