The 10 Traits That Make You a Free-Thinker
To be a good writer you have to think differently
Most writing advice is boiled down to its technicalities.
An MIT class from the late Prof. Patrick Winston talks about 3 skills writers need to master. The lesson started off with this idea:
You are measured by 3 things: The way you speak, the way you write and the quality of your thoughts. The most important being the latter.
When the word freethinker gets thrown around, the first people that come to mind are atheists and agnostics. We associate them with enemies of religion. But they are also enemies of authority and strangers to society. That sounds like an endless list of highly intelligent people.
Freethinkers are creative thinkers. They look at things from every perspective, they challenge their own conclusions, and layer by layer they formulate their own opinions.
They have an active, healthy mind, as opposed to most people with lazy minds who accept what they are told without question and end up having their opinions dictated to them, never giving them any consideration.
What do you spend your time thinking about? Do you learn something new every day? Or, are your thoughts consumed by your routine?
You are curious
How curious were you as a child? What happened?
One of the biggest blunders adults face is that they stop learning. Sure you might be doing all those trainings your company signed you up for, but how much do you enjoy them? How much do you learn from them? Is this the information you are passionate about?
We are all born curious but that curiosity needs to be fed to stay strong. The two most important questions to keep you curious are How? and Why?
The "Why" explains the reasons for existing and the "How" explains the functionality.
Asking these 2 questions repeatedly throws you in a limitless rabbit hole of ideas, each step brings more knowledge, and the deeper you go, the better understanding you will have.
Your job is not your life
How often do you complain about your job? When you wake up in the morning and you look yourself in the mirror. Are you mentally prepared for the day to end before it even begins?
The 9–5 we're prepared for never ends at 5.
You live for the weekend and even those are taken away from you. You spend your evenings thinking about your day's struggles and the ones to come tomorrow.
Valuing money isn't a lesson you're taught in school. You're fooled to believe that you can measure an individual's success by the 0s in their bank account. What sacrifices did they have to make along the way? Countless hours, taking shit from bosses for years until the day comes when they're that same boss giving shit to their team.
Money is at the centre of our society and it blinds us from what it's meant for.
If you can get rid of half your belongings, why don't you?
You listen more than you speak
My dad used to tell me: "Always be afraid of calm waters. You never know how powerful they are if you disturb them."
I've held that advice close to my heart.
Loud people are loud because they are compensating for their low self-confidence. Some people will compensate that with material possessions, a fast car, a big house, or a yacht. We all know what we say about a man with a big/fast car.
Quiet people are busy thinking. They listen to what others are saying, read their body language, and formulate meaningful and often wise words.
Less is and always will be more.
You don't argue, you debate
Disagreeing with each other is normal. Even the closest friends will have differing opinions. Conversations and debates turn into arguments when we fortify our opinions and refuse to listen to others. If you place your ego at the forefront of the conversation, it will blind you from considering anyone else’s opinion.
Free-thinkers consider an opposing view before questioning it or giving their own. They know when to speak and when to listen. They know that some debates are not worth their time.
You can tell from the first few minutes if the conversation is heading anywhere or if you will sit there tirelessly defending your opinions.
Writers need to be confident to support and defend their ideas.
You are creative
I used to think creativity was all about expression. That you had to be an artist to be considered creative. But there's much more to it.
Having a creative mind means you use different areas of your brain along with knowledge from various sources to understand and explain things.
When you are faced with an obstacle, do you consider 1 solution or 10? Do you think 1 step ahead or 3?
Thinking about all possible outcomes and different solutions gives you self-control. Prepare for every eventually so that nothing will ever surprise you.
Yes, you can make your own luck.
You are weird
If you've been called one, take it as a compliment. The best people are.
Remember that 1% of people make it and surprise surprise, you have to be labelled different to fall into that category.
Being seen as strange only works for your advantage if you embrace your differences and try to understand them. Are you called weird because others don't understand you or because you don't understand others?
Free-thinkers are empathetic people, they put themselves in other people's shoes, consider all the aspects that make up their thoughts.
You question authority
Rules are meant to be broken. But even breaking the rules has its own rules. Some rules can be bent, other broken. How you go on about it is entirely up to you.
Authority is there to keep us in check. To keep you in fear of the rules and stop you from venturing out with freedom.
It doesn't only keep the order but it also develops fear in individuals. The fear of not following the rules is what stops most of u.
From your parents to your teachers, your country, your religion and your job. There's no escape. It's better to understand them and think of creative ways to beat them.
Achieving success illegally is the easiest solution that ends up in failure. Instead, find loopholes and work around the authority that keeps you under control.
You know a lot more than others
To be a free thinker you need to know a lot. Experts become experts because they take their time to learn and master their craft.
The first 23 years of my life revolved around war, tragedy, murder, and conflicts. Many of us live in our own bubble, consider ourselves the centre of the world, and neglect everyone else’s struggles.
Last week I was having a conversation with one of my neighbours and we got talking about how to world is moving forward. I see a lot of negatives in our progress, especially after what this year made many of us realize.
I mentioned that 50% of people have no idea about the other 50% of the population. These are people that don't even have access to the internet.
I got passionate about the conversation but she mistook it for anger.
What ticked me off was when she said: "Why are you so angry about this? why is it your problem?"
Well, whose problem is it? if I don't think about it and you don't think about it, then who will?
The more aware you are of all the things you are unaware of, the clearer the world gets.
You consume media differently
If you start off your day reading the news, you're more likely to indulge in negative thoughts throughout the day. The news focuses on what's bad instead of good. On the main page, you'll see disease, war, and death. On the last page cartoons, jokes, puzzles, and entertainment.
Media has shaped much of what we think of the world. But have you ever thought of how accurate everything you see is? Is that what an Irish accent sounds like? Are all the people in Africa living in poverty? Are Arabs terrorists? is socialism bad?
You think you've seen the world through a screen but you haven't. We quickly formulate opinions on others based on what we know from these sources. And if you've travelled around, you'll know that things are very different.
You don't pay attention to brands and labels
Marketing, marketing, marketing.
It shapes the world we live in. Much of it is merely a game of psychology. Ever since the late 1800s, when mental health sparked curiosity among scientists, we've learnt a fair deal about the human mind. But knowing our weaknesses, control is always our first thought before fully understanding what we're dealing with.
Being a good marketer is more about understanding human psychology. The same can be said about salespeople. They learn how to create value in a person's mind they haven't noticed before, even if that value is entirely made up.
Does it matter what brand your watch is when they all tell the same time? Does a 500$ pair of shoes make you walk better than a 20$ pair? What's the point of having a super car when we are both adhering to the same speed limits?
“Be a free-thinker and don’t accept everything you hear as truth. Be critical and evaluate what you believe in.” — Aristotle
If you're expecting a straightforward guide to becoming a free-thinker, I can spare you the suspense and tell you that there isn't one. What I can leave you with is a series of questions to get you started. Answering them honestly, I leave entirely up to you.
- Question your daily habits: What do you look like? How do you speak? How do you behave in public?
- When formulating an opinion, do you consider all available facts or stick to the ones you know?
- Why do you love or hate certain things? What are the reasons?
- If you're religious, do you practice the religion you were given at birth or did you research all existing ones and choose the one you thought was best?
- Are you a fan of pop culture? Do you consume what is popular at the time? Does your taste change as trends change?
- Do you join a political or national cause because you truly believe in it because you want to be part of a group?
- What content are you consuming? Do you read diverse books and articles and question them afterwards?
- If a piece of art, movie, or book influences you, do you think about it for yourself, discuss it with a friend or do you check online reviews first?
- Have you ever thought of the world from someone else's perspective?
- Do you think you have been conditioned since childhood to behave and be a certain way by your parents, your teachers, and the media?
- Are you living a script written for you by others?
