Critical Thinking
“The masses are asses” — Alexander Hamilton
“Critically evaluate the contemporary definitions of leadership and management. Consider current perspectives of the roles and responsibilities of both leaders and managers generally.”
That was my final semester assignment topic.
When I first saw this document, like many others, my eyes swept right over the word “critically evaluate”, went straight to the main areas of focus, and tunnel-visioned on them. I assumed that word didn’t mean anything.
So without even questioning the depths of the topic, I merrily drafted a 3500-word report.
Packed with confidence as I brushed my teeth and showered for the morning. Followed by swift strides in between people on the streets while the quotidian British drizzle pats on my face. I felt it. I was ready.
I was ready to be the first one in my class to show my tutor a “well-drafted” report. I was ready for that subtle nod from my rather emotionless and extremely proper tutor.
As I sat beside him while he was reading my draft, the room was utter silence, with a touch of awkwardness. I suffered the 5 minutes of not knowing where to look at or what to do with my hands. Then he broke the silence.
“I think you’re missing the point,” he said. “You need to critically evaluate the traits of these leaders and managers. Think outside the box, you know?”
I was perplexed, but I said “Okayyy…….” with a ring at the end.
I didn’t understand what he meant by “critically evaluate” at all. And as weeks went by, he kept repeating the same phrase, over and over and over and over again. And as you could imagine, I got pretty frustrated.
I re-wrote my report entirely at least 3 times! That’s more than 10 thousand words for the same set of points! And he still said that I was missing the point.
“What a jerk! Screw this assh*le!”, I thought.
In spite of that, I still went back to the drawing board. But this time, I didn’t just jump into the pool heads first. I paused and really thought about what he meant by “thinking outside the box”. I had to. My first-class degree was on the line.
I took a break to breathe, trying to decipher this enigmatic proverb. I thought, and I thought.
How do I “think outside the box?”… How do I “think outside the box?”… How do I “think outside the box?”…
On one starry night, with gentle breezes and the messy sounds of laughter from my dear friends, after a few drinks, I laid on a park bench. I thought to myself: “What if I was asking the wrong question?”
I started asking: What is the box? Why a box? Who put the box there? How did the box get there? When did the box get there?
At that time, I was obviously a tad tipsy so I couldn’t really answer those questions and my mates were just laughing at me.
The term “thinking outside the box” is presumed to be originated from the USA in the late 1960s. The “box” implicated rigidity and squareness while embodying constrained and unimaginative thinking.
Since then, the incitement to think outside of this box has become extremely pervasive in the business world and the creative industry. So much so that it has become the new “box”.
On top of that, by striving to think outside the box, we’re actually making the concept of “the box” more real to our subconscious mind. And the more real this abstraction in our subconscious mind gets, the stronger the walls of the box that shackles our creativity and imagination get.
But that doesn’t have to be the case.
We need to remove the box entirely. Not only poke holes to have a peek outside, but the entire box. And we can’t do that unless we understand entirely about our own boxes.
My problem was simple. I was stuck in the same classification as my other colleagues in terms of mindset. I was doing the same thing as John, Jane, Olivia, Sophia, Thomas, Michael, Jason, and Natalie. So what made me different?
Nothing.
Once I figured that out, along with the fact that I am not smart enough to compete with them head on, there was only one thing I could do. I had to run the opposite way and do the things that they were not doing.
Statistically,
92% of people in the world fail to achieve their goals.
Both in the short term and the long term. So I reverse-engineered this data and thought:
“If the majority of people couldn’t even achieve their goals, why should I follow them?”
I should be doing the EXACT OPPOSITE.
And so I did!
I wasn’t giving any mind-blowing facts or exhibiting superb writing skills, I merely paid extra attention to the details and fixed my mistakes. I spent hours writing every single piece of information I think the examiner might want to know and made his life as easy as possible.
In other words, I did the “chores”. The “chores” that many students seem to not pay attention to.
I gave my tutor zero reasons to put me in the lower bracket. I fulfilled every single criterion on the marking rubrics. So no matter how much my tutor hated me, there was no room for him to slaughter my marks.
All while giving him the same points, facts, and references as everybody in the class. This way, I also didn’t have the need to beat myself up over not thinking outside of the box enough.
I realized that there actually isn’t any difference between non-critical thinking and critical thinking. Who really is the judge of that? Nobody.
Since then, I stopped. I stopped wanting to “think outside the box” because it just didn’t exist for me anymore. I don’t need to come up with good ideas, it just had to be different. That’s all.
I’ll find out what the majority of people say or do, and then I’ll just do the exact opposite. And it's fine if I'm perceived as the weirdo in the group because I know that if I join the 92% club, my chances of joining the 8% club will be none.
Closing thoughts
- There is no need to try to think outside of the box. Because the more you try, the more real the concept of the box becomes in your subconscious mind. Instead, let your thoughts run free by completely eliminating the belief that you’re in a “box”.
- Critical thinking doesn’t exist. If you want your ideas to stand out, just do the exact opposite of what 92% of people do. The same goes for making life decisions. If everybody is doing one thing, there is little chance of success in that area.
- More often than not, you don’t have to be the genius on the field, you just have to not do the things that don’t work.
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