ℹ️ The text discusses the importance of independent thinking and creativity in problem-solving. It emphasizes the need to think things through for oneself, rather than relying on conventional wisdom or others' thoughts. The concept of solitude is also highlighted as crucial for leaders and individuals seeking their own reality.
We
talked a while ago about not looking for existing
solutions↗;
instead ponder over a problem for few days, bring out your independent
thinking, your creativity and (at the least, if you decide to look for
solution) a perspective to appreciate the solutions/implementations.
Overall it’s an exercise in thinking - creating value, not merely
consuming it.
[William
Deresiewicz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Deresiewicz), in his
address ([Solitude and
leadership](http://theamericanscholar.org/solitude-and-leadership/),
October 2009) to plebe class at Westpoint Military Academy (spoiler
alert, this is where you go and read the essay in entirety :)), brings
up a crucial perspective to thinking: that of a Leader. (Emphasis in the
quotes are mine)
> ...what makes him a thinker—and a leader—is precisely that he is able
> to **think things through for himself**. And because he can, he has
> the confidence, the courage, to argue for his ideas even when they
> aren’t popular. Even when they don’t please his superiors. Courage:
> there is physical courage, which you all possess in abundance, and
> then there is another kind of courage, moral courage, the **courage to
> stand up for what you believe**.
Sit over the idea. Get your thinking hat on!
> I find for myself that my first thought is never my best thought. **My
> first thought is always someone else’s; it’s always what I’ve already
> heard about the subject, always the conventional wisdom**. It’s only
> by concentrating, sticking to the question, being patient, letting all
> the parts of my mind come into play, that I arrive at an original
> idea. By giving my brain a chance to make associations, draw
> connections, take me by surprise.
>
>
> ... You do your best thinking by slowing down and concentrating.
>
>
> ... Thinking for yourself means finding yourself, finding your own
> reality.
How not to do it? :)
> Here’s the other problem with Facebook and Twitter and even The New
> York Times. When you expose yourself to those things, especially in
> the constant way that people do now—older people as well as younger
> people—**you are continuously bombarding yourself with a stream of
> other people’s thoughts**. You are marinating yourself in the
> conventional wisdom. In other people’s reality: for others, not for
> yourself. You are creating a cacophony in which it is impossible to
> hear your own voice, whether it’s yourself you’re thinking about or
> anything else
Later in the
[article](http://theamericanscholar.org/solitude-and-leadership/), he
puts forth the importance of Solitude. Please read it. Let me wind up
with a dialogue from [Peaceful
Warrior](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0438315/), 2006 (amazing movie,
watch it!).
> **Socrates:** Everyone wants to tell you what to do and what's good
> for you. They don't want you to find your own answers, they want you
> to believe theirs.
>
>
> **Dan Millman:** Let me guess, and you want me to believe yours.
>
>
> **Socrates:** No, I want you to stop gathering information from the
> outside and start gathering it from the inside.
*Photo credit: [Thinking by Sidereal, on
Flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/sidereal/349496270/ "Thinking by Sidereal, on Flickr")*
We
talked a while ago about not looking for existing
solutions;
instead ponder over a problem for few days, bring out your independent
thinking, your creativity and (at the least, if you decide to look for
solution) a perspective to appreciate the solutions/implementations.
Overall it’s an exercise in thinking - creating value, not merely
consuming it.