Category Archives: Critical Thinking

(Issue #511) Voice In Your Ear

Posted on March 8, 2020 by

What can you learn? How can you grow? Voice in your ear* Hand on your shoulder Have you heard it?  Maybe in the morning upon waking or at night when drifting to sleep. Perhaps during the hour of the wolf. … Continue reading →

Posted in assumptions, awareness, consideration, Critical Thinking, curiosity, empathy, fear, focus, fortitude, Life lessons | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

(Issue #490) Calling for Deliberative Dialogues. 

Posted on October 13, 2019 by

Acknowledge common ground to build a more unified and proactive community. Every day we find ourselves bombarded by lots of talking.  When fortunate, we get to hear and engage in real conversations. Speaking, listening, questioning, listening, responding, questioning, listening, and … Continue reading →

Posted in accountability, Civility, collaboration, collective monolgues, Community, community development, confirmation bias, consideration, conversation, Critical Thinking, emotional intelligence, Gratitude, growth, habits, Mindfulness, mindset, resilience | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

(Issue #483) Think in Reverse

Posted on August 25, 2019 by

Ask yourself what you need to do to create what you do not want. Wasn’t it Einstein who said that if we keep doing the same thing and expect different results, we’re idiots?  Well, I’m sure he didn’t use the … Continue reading →

Posted in assumptions, creating your future, Creativity, Critical Thinking, curiosity, Discipline, Life lessons, problem solving | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

(Issue #479) Lessons by the Numbers

Posted on July 28, 2019 by

Six short video strategy lessons. This week’s blog evolved from a former student. She reminded me of a guitar metaphor I used in class to highlight six dimensions of growth and resilience. That got me thinking about videos I had … Continue reading →

Posted in assumptions, awareness, coaching, collaboration, collegiality, common sense, Community, core values, Critical Thinking, Dreams, Goals, Gratitude, Life lessons, Living a remarkable life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

(Issue #476) Red Team Analysis

Posted on July 7, 2019 by

Reaching critically reviewed, dissected, and discussed decisions may require creative thinking about how to do it. Critical thinking, though, is not a synonym for creative thinking. I received a reminder about the simple eloquence of critical thinking during a recent … Continue reading →

Posted in accountability, Critical Thinking, Life lessons, red team analysis | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

(#457) Responsibility: Important Questions to Consider

Posted on February 24, 2019 by

This week’s blog post draws on the fifth core value from Community as a Safe Place to Land (2019): Act with RESPONSIBILITY toward others and ourselves. Our personal dreams and challenges give us direction. Our actions (or inaction) create our reality. The … Continue reading →

Posted in accountability, action, Critical Thinking, Dreams, Goals, Life lessons, responsibility | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

(#452) Cognitive Distortions

Posted on January 20, 2019 by

Can you say, “fake news”? Or “leading statements”? Or “inferences based on limited information or examples”? In their book The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, Greg Lukianoff … Continue reading →

Posted in assumptions, awareness, blame, Critical Thinking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

(#442) Community Building: Beyond Why to How

Posted on November 11, 2018 by

The question, in my mind, moves beyond why we need community to how we go about building and sustaining it. While dichotomies can be simplistic, they can also help frame a conversation. When you seek a community, toward which end … Continue reading →

Posted in acceptance, accountability, action, amplifying, assumptions, authenticity, awareness, change management, Communication, Community, community development, confirmation bias, Critical Thinking, leadership | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

(#438) You May Not be the Gift in the Room

Posted on October 14, 2018 by

Effective collaboration rests on the ability to share the stage. In the early 1990s, the public high school where I taught created a committee called the “Shared Decision-Making Committee.”  I was tapped as its first chair.  The stated mission of … Continue reading →

Posted in accountability, amplifying, authenticity, Being REMARKABLE, Being selfish, Choice, Civility, collaboration, collegiality, Communication, Critical Thinking, decision making, Life lessons | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

(#433) Verifying Truth

Posted on September 9, 2018 by

You won’t find a step that says evaluate a source based on what “my group believes” or “who tweeted the most” or “how much I dislike a source.”  2012: Maybe it is the heat of the political campaign season. The … Continue reading →

Posted in assumptions, bias, Civility, Communication, Community, confirmation bias, Critical Thinking, information literacy, Life lessons, opinion, truth | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment