Why Thinking for Yourself is Important

Very importantly, one must think for him-/herself (Sophocles & Plato). Not even religiously, this is an important facet of life. Do you wonder, "How important could this be? Many, many people don't think for themselves and they get on in life." If you are wondering that: Congratulations! You're just three easy steps away from thinking for yourself!

Moses Maimonides said, "Do not imagine that character is determined at birth. We have been given free will.... We ourselves decide whether to make ourselves learned or ignorant, compassionate or cruel, generous or miserly." (Christianity) Though one may believe that we can't help to act certain ways from birth, to be drawn toward certain actions-we can change that. If you were born stupid and you grew up stupid because your family, whether stupid or not, forbade you to think for yourself, you can change. "What's the fine print?" you inquire? Well, it isn't free. No, what you must pay is courage, and you have to want to change. There's nothing to be done if you don't want to, so stop wasting your time wishing you could think if you don't want to; go watch MTV or something.

Thinking for oneself is so important, in fact, that many governing forces insist that we do not think for ourselves. They are afraid that we simple people will learn the value in thinking for ourselves, in questioning, and eventually surpass them with our newfound knowledge-all they have to do is trick us with the illusion that we are thinking for ourselves by sending us to school, or discouraging us because we do not do well in school. But, for a very long time, higher governmental forces have been laughing and bathing in the glory of power, fearing that we may discover their secret: Thinking.

A very good way to clear the mind to think properly is meditation (Buddhism), or at least some rest. I would not advise, however, meditating for long periods of time resulting in the loss of any body parts-most people do not see this as a, er, healthy choice, and your health is also very important to thinking properly. Meditation is actually quite restful; however, if you do not want to meditate, proper sleep is always a good way to go.

How to tell if you're thinking: If you were once stupid-in any sense really, and we all were-you'll know when you're thinking (Taoism, opposites). If you don't know, then you should think that the fact that you're trying to think if you're thinking is actually a form of thinking, and that should be an encouraging thought. Just keep trying-we all really appreciate it! And you will too, eventually.

Now, the reason you will know you're thinking is because you've not thought, as stated above, and that is because they are opposites. Just like you cannot know love without knowing hate and you cannot know the comforts of being warm if you've never been cold. This is actually an excellent notion to apply to life if you want to be happy, so keep it in mind, as knowledge leads to power and ignorance leads to bliss-those with power are not necessarily happy, and those that are happy aren't necessarily in power, so do try to remember the opposites in this way if you'd like to be happy (you know, if just the thought that you can now think isn't good enough to make you rejoice for long periods of time): If something "bad" happens, just think (because you can do that now) that if that "bad" thing didn't happen, you wouldn't be able to enjoy the "good" thing that is opposite it. Exempli gratia: If I stub my toe, it is painful. But if I'd never stubbed my toe, I wouldn't know the extreme bliss in not stubbing a toe (and that is bliss).

Now that you're thinking for yourself, you're probably thinking, "Wow! How can (s)he believe that?" This is a very common side effect of thinking. No matter how ridiculous someone else's beliefs are, though, it is always a nice thing to let them continue to believe it if that's what they believe (Islam, with some modifications) and if they are not hurting anybody (or anything) else. "Why?" you ask? Well, that's a good question, but I'll let you think about it for a while.

Other common side effects include: The realisation that you do not know everything, more friends, headaches, and understanding.