Namaste, Welcome to SAM-VAD (Together In Conversation). Last week, I shared an excerpt titled – ‘Creatures of Habit Resistant to Change’ from the book titled ‘Think Again – The Power of Knowing What you don’t know’ by Adam Grant. In this episode we drew the attention to the fact that we are afflicted with cognitive laziness, preferring the ease of hanging on to old views over the difficulty of grappling with new ones and in this age of social media, what fuels so much contention and discord between people.  Now, SAM-VAD (Together In Conversation) to the ones paying heed, is where we try to draw your attention to things that matter and the importance of your attention, because, ‘Our life’s experience would ultimately amount to whatever we had paid attention to’.

Attention: is as fundamental as food; and we go blundering about, seeking ways to assuage the craving, instead of learning how to provide ourselves with what we need, sensibly and calmly. Once our attention is drawn to the mechanism of why and what we give attention to, it is as if a veil has been stripped off and we become freer in our action and choices. And that is our endavour.

This week I bring to your attention an excerpt titled – ‘Intelligence and Rethinking’ from a book titled ‘Think Again – The Power of Knowing What you don’t know’ by Adam Grant, author and professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

This book looks at the areas in our lives where we routinely fail to reassess in light of changing conditions and feedback: from our beliefs, to our undertakings and pursuits, to our standard operating procedures, interpersonal relationships, and to the counsel we receive.

Intelligence and Rethinking

When people reflect on what it takes to be mentally fit, the first idea that comes to mind is usually intelligence. The smarter you are, the more complex the problems you can solve-and the faster you can solve them.

Intelligence is traditionally viewed as the ability to think and learn. Yet in a turbulent world, there’s another set of cognitive skills that might matter more: the ability to rethink and unlearn.

Some psychologists point out that we’re mental misers: we often prefer the ease of hanging on to old views over the difficulty of grappling with new ones. Questioning ourselves makes the world more unpredictable. It requires us to admit that the facts may have changed, that what was once right may now be wrong.

Reconsidering something we believe deeply can threaten our identities, making it feel as if we’re losing a part of ourselves.

Rethinking isn’t a struggle in every part of our lives. When it comes to our possessions, we update with fervor. We refresh our wardrobes when they go out of style and renovate our kitchens when they’re no longer in vogue. When it comes to our knowledge and opinions, though, we tend to stick to our guns. Psychologists call this seizing and freezing.

We favor the comfort of conviction over the discomfort of doubt, and we let our beliefs get brittle long before our bones. We laugh at people who still use Windows 95, yet we still cling to opinions that we formed in1995. We listen to views that make us feel good, instead of ideas that make us think hard.

Excerpt from ‘Think Again – The Power of Knowing What you don’t know’ by Adam Grant.

I am sure that you will enjoy reading this book, to read book report you can click on the following link and subsequently buy your copy too:

https://humanjourney.us/mind/think-again-adam-grant-review

Enjoy reading it with your family, friends and near and dear one’s.

Namaste!