Developing Our Thinking Ability

In his inspiring book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, Sean Covey enlightens teens that it doesn't matter much which degree course they pursue at the university. What matters most is how well they can think at the end of their university education.

I couldn't agree with Sean Covey more on his assertion that what matters most in our lives is how well we think. And I hasten to add that it is thinking ability that separates winners from failures because we all have the same 24 hours each day. Take, for instance, the case of my high school classmate Lawrence Sikuku and I.

Sikuku was always either position 1 or 2 in our class in every end-term academic results of our high school years. I, on the other hand, started out at position 32 in our first term in high school. And even though I did gradually improve academically as our high school years wore on, I never managed to appear among the top 5 students in our class.

What is interesting to note is that Sikuku and I ate the same food in the dining hall and we were taught by the same teachers in the 7 subjects we did in common in senior high school. We also read the same course contents. Actually, I think I read more than he did.

In the English subject for example, I studied while in Form Two all the three set books we were to be examined in the final high school exams known as KCSE. And you know what? In spite of my zeal in studying the set books in Form Two, I didn't score an 'A' in English when I sat for my KCSE exams two years later.

Sikuku got an 'A' in English in his KCSE results. And I never saw him begin studying the three English set books as early in our high school career as I did. Isn't that an interesting observation?

Since I read more than Sikuku did, how is it that I never managed to trounce him in exams throughout our high school career? It's because of the way we thought and processed knowledge. Sikuku not only thought more clearly than me, he also had superior reasoning skills.

Talking of my high school learning, I finished high school in November 2005 loaded with a lot of knowledge. I could solve simultaneous equations, balance chemical equations and explain why the banking system in Switzerland is well developed. The mean grade 'A' I scored in my KCSE exams was well deserved.

Yet even with all the knowledge I had in my head, I couldn't think clearly. I was often confused. And the SAT exam brought that out unmistakably when I sat for the exam thrice in 2006 and 2007. (The SAT is an American exam that tests the reasoning ability of students.)

It was like my mind was programmed to think confusedly when I was finishing high school in November 2005. For how else can you explain that people accused me of being mentally mixed-up even when I was at the university in 2007?

Having realized how profound a difference our thoughts make in our lives, I have been striving to develop my thinking ability. Just like my mind was programmed to think confusedly when I was leaving high school, I am now programming it to think clearly, creatively and positively. And my efforts are bearing fruit given the peace and mental clarity I am feeling most of the time.

Yes, our thinking ability makes a profound difference in our lives. It is what separates winners from failures. It is what made Sikuku outperform me in high school exams. And Science has proved there is a correlation between our physical health and the nature of our thoughts.

Because our thoughts have such a profound difference in our lives, I urge you, my beloved reader, to also develop your thinking ability. And I can think of no better way of improving our thought life than by reading, meditating and writing consistently. So read, meditate and write as often as you can. Adieu!

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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on developing our thinking ability, you might also enjoy another one on "Developing Mental Clarity" which I wrote more than five years ago. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.