Current Habit of Mind

Previous Habits of Mind:

'Listening with Understanding and Empathy’ .

Understand Others! Devoting mental energy to another person’s thoughts and ideas; holding in abeyance one’s own thoughts in order to perceive another's point of view.

Listening is the beginning of understanding.....
Wisdom is the reward for a lifetime of listening.
Let the wise listen and add to their learning and let the discerning get guidance –

Proverbs 1:5

'Striving for Accuracy’.

Check it Again! A desire for exactness, fidelity and craftsmanship. 

A man who has committed a mistake and doesn't correct it is committing another mistake.

Confucius

'Questioning and Posing Problems'.

Having a questioning attitude; knowing what data you need and developing questioning strategies to produce that data. Finding problems to solve. 

The formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill. To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advances.....

Albert Einstein

'Responding with Wonderment and Awe’.

Have fun figuring it out! Finding the world awesome, mysterious and being intrigued with phenomena and beauty.    

"The most beautiful experience in the world is the experience of the mysterious."

Albert Einstein.

'Thinking Flexibly'

Look at it another way. Being able to change perspective, generate alternatives and consider options.

If you never change your mind, why have one?

Edward de Bono

‘Persisting’

Stick to it! Persevering in a task through to completion; remaining focused.

Persistence is the twin sister of excellence.

One is a matter of quality; the other, a matter of time.

Marabel Morgan,

The Electric Woman

‘Managing Impulsivity'

 Take Your Time! Thinking before acting; remain calm, thoughtful and deliberate.

"....goal directed self-imposed delay of gratification is perhaps the essence of emotional self-regulation: the ability to deny impulse in the service of a goal, whether it be building a business, solving an algebraic equation, or pursuing the Stanley cup". 

Daniel Goleman Emotional Intelligence (1995) p. 83

‘Thinking Interdependently'

Work together! Being able to work in and learn from others in reciprocal situations.

Take care of each other. Share your energies with the group. No one must feel alone, cut off, for that is when you do not make it. Team work.

Willie Unsoeld

Renowned Mountain Climber

‘Creating, Imagining and Innovating'

Try a different way! Generating new and novel ideas, fluency, originality.

"The future is not some place we are going to but one we are creating.  The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination."

John Schaar, Political Scientist,

University of Santa Clara

Author, 'Loyalty in America'

'Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision'

Be clear! Striving for accurate communication in both written and oral form; avoiding over generalizations, distortions and deletions. 

I do not so easily think in words.... after being hard at work having arrived at results that are perfectly clear...  I have to translate my thoughts in a language that does not run evenly with them.

Francis Galton, Geneticist.

'Remaining open to Continuous Learning.’

I have so much more to learn! Having humility and pride when admitting we don’t know; resisting complacency.

Insanity is continuing to do the same thing over and over and expecting different results. 

 Albert Einstein

'Thinking about your Thinking—Metacognition’.

Know your knowing! Being aware of one’s own thoughts, strategies, feelings and actions and their effects on others.

When the mind is thinking it is talking to itself.

Plato

'Taking Responsible Risks.’

Venture Out! Being adventuresome; living on the edge of one’s competence.

There has been a calculated risk in every stage of American development--the pioneers who were not afraid of the wilderness, businessmen who were not afraid of failure, dreamers who were not afraid of action. 

Brooks Atkinson

'Finding Humor'

Laugh a little! Finding the whimsical, incongruous and unexpected.  Being able to laugh at oneself.

Where do bees wait? 

 At the buzz stop.

Andrew, age six.

'Gathering Data Through All Senses'

Use your natural pathways! Gathering data through all the sensory pathways—gustatory, olfactory, tactile, kinaesthetic, auditory and visual.

Observe perpetually.

Henry James

'Thinking Flexibly'

Look at it another way. Being able to change perspective, generate alternatives and consider options.

If you never change your mind, why have one?

 Edward de Bono

'Listening with Understanding and Empathy’

Understand Others! Devoting mental energy to another person’s thoughts and ideas; holding in abeyance one’s own thoughts in order to perceive another's point of view.

Listening is the beginning of understanding.....
Wisdom is the reward for a lifetime of listening.
Let the wise listen and add to their learning and let the discerning get guidance –
Proverbs 1:5

Finding Humour - Laugh a Little!

Finding the whimsical, incongruous and unexpected.  Being able to laugh at oneself.

Where do bees wait?

 At the buzz stop.

Andrew, Age six.

Gathering data through all senses. 

 Use your natural pathways! Gathering data through all the sensory pathways—gustatory, olfactory, tactile, kinaesthetic, auditory and visual.

Observe perpetually.

Henry James

Striving For Accuracy

Check it again! A desire for exactness, fidelity and craftsmanship.

A man who has committed a mistake and doesn't correct it is committing another mistake.

Confucius

Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations

Use what you Learn! Accessing prior knowledge; transferring knowledge beyond the situation in which it was learned.

"I've never made a mistake.  I've only learned from experience."

Thomas A. Edison

Questioning and Posing Problems

How do you know? Having a questioning attitude; knowing what data you need and developing questioning strategies to produce that data. Finding problems to solve.

The formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill. To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advances.....

Albert Einstein

Creating, Imagining and Innovating

Try a different way! Generating new and novel ideas, fluency, originality.

"The future is not some place we are going to but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made and the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination."

John Schaar, Political Scientist,

University of Santa Clara 

Author, Loyalty in America