THINKING

Thinking is an act or practice of engaging ones’ mind to produce thought; it is being productive in your reasoning thereby forming opinions or judgments that can effect a positive change.

Thinking is often mistaken with worrying or anxiety but there is a whole lot of variation between the two. When faced with challenges, anxiety focuses on the challenge but thinking is looking out for solution to the challenge. Anxiety sees impossibility but thinking sees possibility.

It is a natural expectation of man to think, because man is created a thinking being and has well developed brain. Man has unlimited capacity to reason productively; engaging the brain means engaging your life and making the most of life.

Thinking demands the engagement of both your mind and your brain (head). When the head alone is engaged, it is lofty thinking and lacks capacity to add up to life. Mind and head must be engaged simultaneously for one to be said to be truly involved in an act of thinking.

Man is a product of his thought, for as a man thinks in his heart so is he – Proverb 23:7. Your experience is a product of what formed your thought; when think lack you have lack, you think sickness you become sin but your health you are healthy. So think great thoughts – Philippians 4:8 --- whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – mediate on these things.


DIFFERENT TYPES OF THINKING

1. Critical thinking - This is convergent thinking. It assesses the worth and validity of something existent. It involves precise, persistent, objective analysis. When teachers try to get several learners to think convergent, they try to help them develop common understanding.

2. Creative thinking - This is divergent thinking. It generates something new or different. It involves having a different idea that works as well or better than previous ideas.

3. Convergent thinking - This type of thinking is cognitive processing of information around a common point, an attempt to bring thoughts from different directions into a union or common conclusion.

4. Divergent thinking - This type of thinking starts from a common point and moves outward into a variety of perspectives.

5. Inductive thinking - This is the process of reasoning from parts to the whole, from examples to generalizations.