Only 55% of all Americans know that the sun is a star. I don’t know what they think it is, a planet maybe or maybe they just never thought about it. Maybe they just aren’t the curious type or maybe they just don’t think much at all. 

 

Or maybe they are just lazy thinkers.

 

Lazy thinkers assume a bunch of stuff. Many of the things they do they do because they have always done them. They don’t stop to think about what they do and why they do it. 

 

They would almost certainly be more successful, in every area of their life if they just challenged their thinking once in a while but that’s pretty hard to do without some help. 

 

Who helps you challenge your thinking? Who causes you to justify your decisions. Who squeezes the rationale out of you? Who is your “devil’s advocate?”

 

It is good, no, it is very good to have someone in your life that challenges your thinking. 

 

You should not be upset when your thinking is challenged, in fact, you should be grateful. When your thinking is challenged it keeps you from becoming a lazy thinker.

 

Some people, like me for instance, don’t challenge their thinking because they are always right. Except of course when they aren’t. Mark Twain said “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”

 

Every decision I make is better when I make it while realizing that my thought process may be challenged by someone. When I have real reasons for making a decision with facts and logic to support those reasons I know that the decision will stand up to any challenge.

 

That’s almost certainly the case for you too.

 

If you need help challenging your thinking then ask for help. Find a mentor or a coach. Bounce your thinking off of someone you respect, let them provide you with an alternative view and perhaps some additional facts. 

 

Doing something because it’s always been done that way is the absolute worst reason for doing anything. It’s a terrible trap to fall into and it’s a trap that lazy thinkers live in all too often.

Be an energetic thinker, know how you came to the conclusions you came to. Know why, exactly why, you’re doing what you’re doing. Be prepared to defend everything you do, everything you say and most importantly, everything you think.