“Creative Thinking deals with suggesting
possible solutions to the challenges in
society, while Critical Thinking takes you
to the realm of testing, evaluating and the
confirmation of a proposed solution”
But back home in Africa, particularly in my dear Nigeria, the reverse seems the case. Many want to spend 35 years in public or private corporations struggling for promotion; a lot more are eager to join the league of those sharing our nation’s commonwealth through political patronage and contract kickbacks; even as some are simply bent on constituting themselves as nuisance to society by refusing to be alive to their responsibilities as citizens. Sadly, a good number of our policy makers and those we look up to for answers to our myriad of challenges are also failing us on a grand scale. Rather than formulate home-grown policies to tackle our peculiar challenges, these people are busy recycling theories postulated in climes that have no similarities whatsoever with ours. And the result of their “indolence” is the poor performance of our economy on virtually all fronts as is recorded in major global economic indicators. Daily survival is becoming more of a herculean task for the average person in this country.
Nevertheless, for our desired shift from the ‘dream world’ to the ‘real world’ to be achieved, those with relevant skills and competencies must strive hard to pass the “creative and critical thinking” test. This level of capability is very essential for individual growth as well as the advancement of our society. To further deepen your understanding of this dimension of reasoning; I will say Creative Thinking deals with suggesting possible solution to the challenges we face, while Critical Thinking takes one to the stage of testing, evaluating and confirmation of at least one of the proposed solutions. It’s only after these processes have been concluded with verifiable proofs that one can indeed formulate theories that could be adopted to address our issues. Please, stop dreaming and start thinking straight. You may dream the best dream in the world but if you don’t get creative, put on your thinking cap and search out the best way of making it happen in real life; it will remain just that - a mere dream.
“Take charge of your circumstances;
Do not allow the glamour of city life to
becloud your senses from the demands
of the moment. Your survival is too
vital to be left to chance and luck”
On the morning that I wrote down the caption of this piece, I was in my kitchen fixing breakfast when Pastor Femi Emmanuel’s Turning Point programme came up on my radio. So I suspended what I was doing to give attention to his 5-minute insightful teaching. Then came his regular wisdom capsule: “Positive attitude produce positive result”. The statement really struck me, so I scribbled it down as I enjoyed the rest of the programme. Shortly after, in quick succession, came a voice-over from Christ Embassy Church on the same radio station with these exact words from Pastor Chris: “There is something inside you, bring it out!!” Wow! What a wonderful morning it was for me. Those few words kept me on high spirit throughout that week. In fact, they’re part of the several phrases that have helped my perception of life’s issues greatly.
Positive mindset is what enables a person to engage in creative thinking and, if followed through, it will also spur you to advance to the stage of critical thinking, which often leads to the birthing of excellent products. If you can’t take your mind away from the actualities of today - good or bad - to diligently conscript the possibility of a much better tomorrow and work towards its realization, you may find yourself in a future that is worse than your past. Did I hear you say God forbid? That’s fine. But I’ll like to inform you that such fate has befallen thousands and millions in the past. And, no doubt, it could repeat again and again if adequate caution is not applied in your daily pursuit. If you are a bit comfortable today, then you’ve got a lot of work to do in order to remain relevant in the scheme of things in your industry in the near future. Take charge of your circumstances; do not allow the glamour of city life to becloud your senses from the demands of the moment. Your survival is too vital to be left to chance and luck.
“There are opportunities in all parts of
the world but it takes something more
than the ordinary eyes to locate them.
Change your negative thoughts...”
Thoughts are very powerful assets that could either make or break an individual, organisation or community, depending on how it is deployed. So if you want to produce positive results, you MUST trade in creative thinking and also be a master of critical thinking. The balance life you seek will most likely snowball from the quality of our thoughts. You are expected to construct the outcome of your life through critical thinking. Positive thinkers are creators; they innovate, they lead, they set the pace for others to follow. Thinkers are trail blazers. You can never end your life a nonentity if you are a positive thinker who matches same with precise actions. No way! Note that you can change the course of your entire life by altering your thought pattern. Your best bet is to be a positive thinker. Give this a serious consideration and watch your situation change for the better.
More so, you should learn to look (and see) beyond the physical. Permit me to say the spiritual is more real than the physical. Yes, it is a fact! The invisible world, to a large extent, determines what transpired around us. The earlier you understand the importance of this truth to your life’s purpose and journey, the better for your today and, invariably, your tomorrow. Display your ideas on the table and pick up only the relevant ones through critical thinking. There are opportunities in all parts of the world but it takes something more than the ordinary eyes to locate the real ones. Change your negative thoughts, realign your actions on the part of positivity and stay committed to a thing or two. Before long your inner eyes will be open to the steps that would eventually usher you into an ambience where you’ll be functional in your community and relevant to your world.
The clock is ticking...
The ball is in your court!