Key Messages
Gain The Tools To Become A Fearless, Innovative Problem Solver
Reading The Five Elements of Effective Thinking empowers you to become a bold, inquisitive and outside-the-box thinker.
With the book’s guidance, you can lose your fear of failure and be more willing to take on challenging tasks.
Furthermore, you’ll use critical thinking skills while embracing failure as an opportunity to learn new things.
You’ll also ignite your inner curiosity and ask yourself questions even those that you already know the answers to.
This will open your mind and deepen your understanding of the subject.
Moreover, this book will help you find unique solutions for problems that generally have only one accepted answer.
By learning how to look beyond the obvious, you can come up with innovative solutions that may have never been thought of before!
Mastering The Basics Is Key To Developing True Understanding Of Something
The true key to mastering any skill or talent is mastering the basics, just like the element Earth represents solid ground underneath our feet.
It might sound counterintuitive, but bombarding yourself with tons of different complexities and facts wouldn’t lead to true mastery.
The best way to prove this would be observing virtuoso trumpet player Tony Plog delivering a masterclass for accomplished soloists.
They played incredibly well when they performed their most challenging piece; however, when it came to playing a simple beginner’s exercise none of them excelled.
Once Plog himself performed the same exercise, he proved his expertise in the basics that make up the foundation of any skillset or abilities.
This thought was also backed by how NASA met the challenge of sending a man on the moon in 1960s.
Instead of shooting people into space right away, they took a logical approach by starting with an unmanned rocket to the moon first – which illustrates how before successfully operating on more complicated tasks you need to understand and refine your work based on basic elements and build from there accordingly.
So when tackling any tough job, step back and consider what easy element should come first – true mastery isn’t about doing hard things, but understanding the core basics!
Finding The Essence Of A Phenomenon: Ignoring Expectations And Looking At What’S Missing
When it comes to understanding how a complex problem works, it can be difficult to find its true essence.
The key is to focus on what you can see, and identify what is missing.
Take the example of flight.
People often assumed that flapping wings were responsible for flight when in fact, the real reason was the particular curvature of a wing.
Uncovering this subtlety required paying closer attention to the details at hand and ignoring outdated assumptions.
The same logic applies when finding the essence of any problem or issue.
It is important to look past what has been traditionally accepted as correct and focus instead on only the facts before us in order to get a clear picture of the truth behind an issue.
This principle also applies when looking for something that’s missing from an existing situation we are trying to understand.
From monochrome photographs being referred to simply as “photographs” before colored film was invented, we have learned that sometimes by adding an adjective such as “black and white” can provide us with an even better understanding of much more intricate issues or problems at hand.
Embrace Your Mistakes To Unlock Success: Edison And The Post-It Note Teach Us A Valuable Lesson
The Five Elements of Effective Thinking make it abundantly clear: success is born out of failure.
It sounds like an old adage, but when you look at history‘s successful innovators, it’s hard not to accept that it’s been proven countless times before.
Take Thomas Edison for example; he believed that progress is actually made up of “1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” He famously experimented endlessly in pursuit of his invention of the lightbulb until he achieved success.
His accomplishments were built upon the lessons he learned from each mistake he made along the way – and according to this element Fire, we must embrace our mistakes to learn better.
And Edison wasn’t alone – many other successful people have accepted their mistakes as part of a process towards making the right choice.
A fascinating example comes from 3M Laboratories; in 1970, one scientist set out to create a strong adhesive, but instead created something incredibly weak – so weak it could be peeled off any surface without leaving any trace!
This project was ultimately abandoned – but three years later, another 3M scientist needed a bookmark that wouldn’t slip or damage books – and you guessed it – that same weak adhesive ended up being perfect for the job!
Later on, this became one of the most well-known inventions by 3M: The Post-it note.
This goes to show us that even our perceived failures can help us progress and succeed down the line if we give them a chance!
Before you consider an idea useless or a failure, take time to consider whether your idea might be used in an unexpected way.
Embrace Failure To Achieve Innovation: Three Ways To Re-Think The Fear Of Mistakes
The idea of embracing failure, rather than cowering in fear of it, is an essential principle presented in The Five Elements of Effective Thinking.
This element — known as Fire — encourages a mindset that allows you to experiment with ideas without the burden of being perfect on your first try.
To help make this concept easier to grasp and commit to, a good tip is committing to attempting something nine times before giving up.
By doing so, you are essentially resetting the bar by setting your expectations lower (which leads to fewer disappointments) and telling yourself that failure is simply part of the process for achieving success.
Additionally, putting aside any preconceived notions on whether an idea is “right” or “wrong” helps eliminate any potential fear from halting progress from happening.
Last but not least, forcing mistakes so as to better understand their sources allows one improve upon their concepts and further refine them for optimal performance & outcomes.
In summary, adopting an attitude which welcomes failure rather than shying away from it can allow one to explore creative solutions at greater depths and discover even more effective methods & techniques when tackling challenging tasks – just remember not to forget Fire!
Embrace A Mindset Of Curiosity And Critical Thinking To Maximize Learning
One of the most important elements of developing an effective thinking mindset is Air – questioning.
As adults, we often think we already know the answer to a question and thereby become annoyed by persistent inquiry.
But that’s wrongheaded; questioning is crucial for cultivating deeper knowledge.
To achieve this frame of mind, you must force yourself to ask questions, even when you think you already know the answer.
One approach is to act as though you are a teacher.
Once you have an adequate understanding of a subject or solution to a problem, consider how you would teach others about it and create a lecture.
This concept can help identify any gaps in your own knowledge and might introduce new questions that were previously overlooked.
Additionally, curate an attitude that is consistently curious and critical by simply asking “What if…?” Regularly practice this strategy and search to find an answer which fulfills your curiosity.
The authors of this book had success when they randomly chose one student in the hall per lecture to be the “questioner”, who was then required to ask at least two questions during the talk.
The authors noted that not only did the questioner gain a better understanding of the topic than other students present; they retained it longer too!
The Power Of Asking The Right Questions: How To Use Questions To Generate Clarity, Focus, And Insight
Asking the right questions is essential to finding the right solution.
Taking our bear-chasing analogy as an example – instead of asking how one can outrun the bear, it’s much more effective to ask whether one can outrun their companion.
In The Five Elements of Effective Thinking, this is represented by the element Air.
It’s all about understanding what makes a good question and avoiding generic non-specific ones.
With Air, your questions must truly meet the criteria of being effective – they should engage your mind in ways that lead to new insight and actionable solutions.
Another key element of asking the right questions is to consider if you are asking the wrong ones.
Take for instance when you’re stuck in traffic — a typical question might be ‘how can I fix this traffic issue?’ But that doesn’t really get to the heart of it.
A better question might be ‘Given that I’m stuck here, is there a way for me to use this time productively?
Finally, making sure you know why you’re even doing something in the first place and what purpose it serves goes a long way towards formulating effective questions and getting to real solutions – questioning “What’s my reason for even doing this task in the first place?” before beginning any project will help you gain insights into what you hope to achieve from it and shift your perspective accordingly.
Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants – How History Can Help Us Develop New Ideas
The Five Elements of Effective Thinking teaches us that when it comes to cultivating great ideas, we must look to the past for guidance.
Ideas don’t appear from a vacuum – they evolve, growing and expanding on previous ideas.
For instance, the famous mathematicians Isaac Newton and Gottfried von Leibniz conceived a new form of math, calculus, in the 17th century.
But their idea wasn’t really ‘new’, it was an advancement of existing ideas.
Think of an idea like water flowing down a river – each river is made up of many tributaries that flow together and reach the ultimate destination.
Similarly, successful ideas build upon all the different people who’ve come before us and thought about similar things in slightly different ways over the centuries.
This concept is aptly summed up by Newton himself who said: “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
So keep this in mind next time you pursue an idea or endeavor: your thoughts grow exponentially with each preceding thought, allowing you to progress quickly towards your goals.
Continually Exploiting New Ideas For Inspiration Is The Key To Open-Ended Innovation
When it comes to effective thinking, viewing new ideas and solutions as a beginning rather than the end is key.
As American mathematician R.H.
Bing said, we should continue to work on a problem after it’s been solved and never let our innovation come to a halt.
In effect, every idea can serve as a source for further inspiration, thus allowing us to cultivate even more ideas and discoveries.
A great example of this is the invention of the light bulb – this one simple solution sparked dozens of new ideas like electric heaters, television, computers, and much more!
This shows us how important it is to not just see each idea or solution as its own endpoint – instead, view them as starting points which can flow in endless directions!
The element Water can be an excellent inspiration to help you approach problems this way; namely that you should never dam up your creative process and always keep asking yourself: “What’s next?” So take that first step towards tackling your next challenge – you may be surprised at what you find!
Real Change Comes From Finding The Willingness And Confidence To Try Something New
If you want to make changes in your life that will lead to success, then you need to be willing to change.
It won’t be easy, but if you want different results, then you must break away from the same old routine.
The five elements of effective thinking – Earth, Fire, Air, Water and Change – can help you on your path to self-improvement.
By centering your ideas with Earth, inspiring confidence with Fire, clearing your thoughts with Air and allowing your ideas to flow from one place to another with Water, you will be armed with the tools needed for transformation.
But even all of these elements don’t mean anything if there is no willingness for change.
You must accept the fact that mistakes are necessary for growth and open yourself up to trying something new.
Just like a city is incrementally renovated again and again; this process should become a cycle in order for it to truly work!
So don’t just keep living as usual- embrace the concept of change and use the four elements of effective thinking in order to reach your desired level of success.
Wrap Up
The Five Elements of Effective Thinking by Professors Edward Burger and Michael Starbird provide an important message that everyone can benefit from: extraordinary people are just ordinary people who think differently.
By taking their advice and utilizing the methods of effective thinking, anybody has the potential to achieve great things.
One key takeaway is to purposely fail and learn from mistakes.
Instead of being unsure what to do in a difficult situation, just try an approach you know will not bring success and use the experience as learning opportunity instead.
Additionally, testing one’s mastery can also be done by writing down everything you know about a certain topic on a blank sheet of paper and comparing it with more knowledgeable sources.
Doing so will help identify any weaknesses in understanding the basics, which can then be worked upon for further improvement.
In sum, The Five Elements of Effective Thinking holds valuable advice for anyone looking to get ahead in life.
Employing the techniques outlined within its pages can have profound effects on one’s ability to think logically, develop ideas more effectively and ultimately realize greater success.
