Thinking Attitudes

Just because we were all born with brains does not mean we are all thinkers per se. Yes, we do think generally, to the extent that our brains function but what I’m talking about goes beyond the normal. It takes a certain kind of attitude in order to be productive in our thinking, which is the best fit for a good writer.

The following attributes, when consciously cultivated, will help your thinking be more productive:

(a) Be skeptical: Well, it’s not a very attractive attribute but I believe it is possible to be skeptical in a healthy way. It allows you to ask tough questions where other people would simply accept whatever is there. Healthy skepticism points you in the direction of further investigation of a new idea, concept or way of thinking. You are able to turn things around, inside-out, sideways and in every other direction in order to understand it better. At the end of the day you will find you have extended your original ideas and come up with new aspects that you can write about.

(b) Be analytical. This comes in handy when you are dealing with data that needs to be organized into specific format and/or summarized. This is an advantage when it comes to writing reports and some forms of technical writing like proposals.

(c) Curiosity – It may have killed the cat but certainly no writer will ever die from curiosity. Approach your subject with a desire to know more about it, other than what is available on the surface. For instance, if you are doing research on a specific topic you can read about it on the internet, books and magazines to get some understanding of it. However, you may come across data that requires confirmation of actual existence, and if you are curious enough, you will go out there to get it. You may choose to interview an expert or practitioner in that field or simply do an observation experiment.