| Sometimes
I open my talks with a throwaway statement that not everything I'm
about to say is true, but I won't tell you which bits. This is because
I don't want the audience to be bogged down by a judgmental state
of mind when listening to stories, some of which are true and some
of which are myth (which is a different form of truth). What I'm
really wanting to get across is that if what I'm saying is of use
to you, then it can be true for you. Our lives are full of things
we believe about ourselves which aren't true and yet we hang onto
and defend them. So why not adopt a new belief that may not be 'true'
(yet) but will definitely be useful?
I've come
across an interesting difference when speaking in front of students
or employees compared to business owners. Most business owners listen
to what I have to say and immediately validate it to see if it is
useful to them now. In other words they listen personally and practically.
Students and employees think in a totally different way. They are
validating it to see if it is globally true, in all cases, in all
situations. If they find that it isn't they reject it and point
it out to me.
When I
was explaining that 'everyone has the capacity to be creative',
a question came from the back, "but if everyone was creative
then who would drive the buses and collect the rubbish?". I
had just explained the concept that creativity is something we all
share as our human birthright. What the student heard was different.
He thought I was saying that everyone should be creative, a directive
order rather than a statement.
An ideal
utopia where everyone is using their talents to the full and live
together in peace and harmony should be our goal. History is full
of people who tried to bring about such a world forcibly and quickly.
They ended up either getting killed or creating the opposite. So
I don't talk in absolutes, but suggestions.
The student
was detached from the material and was looking for something that
was abstractly globally true, an absolute. He knew that not everyone
is, or practically could be creative therefore he would reject the
notion. This is like rejecting Christianity just because Islam exists
(or visa-versa), or not liking a particular piece of music because
someone else doesn't like it. This is called fundamentalist thinking.
Some people
claim that religion is the cause of all strife in history. Since
all religions involve belief it may show us that it is belief in
absolutes that cause all the trouble. Because once you have an absolute
and someone disagrees then you no longer have that absolute, unless
you silence the voice of dissent....
Perhaps
we could be more flexible in what we believe. Strange things start
to happen when you believe new things that are useful to you and
those around you. Why not try a novel approach and actually choose
what you believe instead of letting someone else, the media or your
parents choose for you?
This is
the essential difference between critical thinking and creative
thinking. Critical thinking asks, 'is this true?', while creative
thinking asks, 'is this useful?'.
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