Better Your Life (Collection)

Better Your Life (Collection)

by Linda Elder, Richard Paul, Judy Chartrand, Stewart Emery, Russ Hall, Heather Ishikawa, John Maketa
Released August 2013
Publisher(s): Pearson
ISBN: 9780133742411

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

Better critical thinking can transform your life and help you improve every decision you make! Now, in just 30 days, master specific, easy-to-learn critical thinking techniques that help you cut through lies, gain insight, and make smarter choices in every area of your life -- from work and money to intimate relationships. World-renowned critical thinking experts Dr. Linda Elder and Dr. Richard Paul show how to overcome poor thinking habits caused by self-deception or out-of-control emotions... clarify what you really want... recognize what you don't know... ask better questions... resist brainwashing, manipulation, and hypocrisy... critically evaluate what you're told by advertisers, politicians, your boss, even your family... and avoid worrying, conformism, and blame. In 30 Days to Better Thinking and Better Living Through Critical Thinking, readers focus each day¿on a specific thinking habit, learning practical strategies for achieving results and keeping a journal of daily progress. Expanded, improved, and easier to use, this new Revised and Expanded edition offers today's most complete and practical plan for using critical thinking to build a better life.

¿

Now You're Thinking will help you build your great life by teaching you breakthrough techniques for thinking far more effectively -- because that's the secret of making better life decisions, whether you're considering refinancing your house or hoping to becoming a better parent or partner. Some thinking processes simply work better than others, and this book teaches you the ones that are proven to work best. The authors start with the extraordinary true story of Amenah, just two years old, dying in an Iraqi village, and in desperate need of complicated open-heart surgery unavailable in her own country. The authors reveal the extraordinary thinking that saved her life, and show how you can use the same approaches to transform yours. You'll discover how to assess your own thinking style, build on your strengths, fix your weaknesses, and gain control of your life. The authors guide you in navigating life's toughest challenges and moral dilemmas...gaining perspective on what really matters..."thinking your way" to work-life balance and financial security...surviving the career game of "ladders and slides"...mastering the art of strategic thinking, in business, and in life.

Table of contents

  1. About This eBook
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Contents
  5. 30 Days to Better Thinking and Better Living Through Critical Thinking: A Guide for Improving Every Aspect of Your Life, Revised and Expanded
    1. Copyright Page
    2. Dedication Page
    3. More on What People Say About the 30 Days Book...
    4. About the Authors
    5. Introduction
      1. Improve Your Thinking, Improve Your Life
      2. Can Your Thinking Be Your Problem?
      3. A How-To List for Dysfunctional Living
      4. Take Your Thinking Seriously
      5. No Intellectual Pain, No Intellectual Gain
      6. The Concepts, Principles, and Tools of Critical Thinking
      7. Why Critical Thinking?
      8. The Figuring Mind
      9. Analyze Your Thinking (Focusing on the Elements of Reasoning)
      10. Assess Your Thinking (Using Reasonable Standards)
      11. Systematically Apply Intellectual Standards to the Elements of Reasoning to Develop Intellectual Traits
      12. Pursue the Constellation of Intellectual Traits
      13. Understand the Mind’s Three Distinctive Functions
      14. Recognize Thinking as the Key to Feelings and Desires
      15. Distinguish Rational from Egocentric and Sociocentric Thoughts
      16. Understand Egocentric Thinking as a Problem
      17. Distinguish Egocentric Domination from Egocentric Submission
      18. Understand Sociocentric Thinking as a Problem
      19. A Substantive Approach to Critical Thinking Targets
      20. The Thirty-Day Plan
      21. Tips for Internalizing Each Idea
      22. Planning and Logging Your Progress
    6. Day One. Discover Your Ignorance
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for developing intellectual humility
      3. Questions you might ask to identify weaknesses in your thinking
    7. Day Two. Strive to Be a Person of Integrity: Beware of Your Own Hypocrisy
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for reducing hypocrisy in yourself
      3. Strategies for noticing hypocrisy in others
    8. Day Three. Empathize with Others
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for empathizing with others
    9. Day Four. Deliberately Target Your Purposes
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Questions you can ask to target purpose
      3. Strategies for targeting purposes
    10. Day Five. Don’t Be a Conformist: Think for Yourself
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for becoming an independent thinker
    11. Day Six. Clarify Your Thinking
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for clarifying your thinking
    12. Day Seven. Be Relevant: Stick to the Point
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Questions you can ask to make sure your thinking is focused on what is relevant
    13. Day Eight. Be Reasonable
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for becoming more reasonable
      3. Be on the lookout for...
    14. Day Nine. Ask Deep Questions
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for formulating more powerful questions
      3. Questions you can ask to discipline your thinking
    15. Day Ten. Distinguish Among Questions of Fact, Preference, and Judgment
      1. Questions of Procedure (Established or One-System)
      2. Questions of Preference (No System)
      3. Questions of Judgment (Conflicting Systems)
      4. Be on the lookout for...
      5. Strategies for internalizing and using the three types of questions
    16. Day Eleven. Think Through Implications
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for thinking through implications
      3. Questions you should ask to target implications
    17. Day Twelve. Distinguish Inferences from Assumptions
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for taking command of your inferences and assumptions
    18. Day Thirteen. Don’t Be Fooled by the Words People Use: Look Underneath Words to Unspoken Realities
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for choosing words more carefully
    19. Day Fourteen. When You Think You Have Arrived as a Critical Thinker, Think Again
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for continuing to develop as a critical thinker
    20. Day Fifteen. Be Fair, Not Selfish
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for developing as a fairminded thinker
      3. Questions you can ask to foster fairness in your thinking
    21. Day Sixteen. Get Control of Your Emotions
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for taking command of your emotional life
    22. Day Seventeen. Take Control of Your Desires
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for controlling your desires
    23. Day Eighteen. Don’t Dominate Others: Don’t Be a Top Dog
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for becoming less dominating
    24. Day Nineteen. Don’t Be Submissive; Don’t Be an Underdog
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for avoiding irrational submission
    25. Day Twenty. Don’t Be Brainwashed by the News Media
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for seeing through the news media
    26. Day Twenty-One. Carefully Choose the Ideas You Take in from Television, Ads, Movies, and the Internet
      1. Carefully observe...
      2. Strategies for critiquing television shows, ads, movies, and Internet resources
    27. Day Twenty-Two. Don’t Be Bamboozled by Politicians
      1. As you go through your day...
      2. Strategies for seeing through politicians
    28. Day Twenty-Three. Don’t Be a Blamer
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for taking charge of who you are
    29. Day Twenty-Four. Don’t Be Righteous: Show Mercy
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for showing compassion and mercy
    30. Day Twenty-Five. Vow to Spend No Time Worrying
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for relinquishing the worrying habit
    31. Day Twenty-Six. Be a Citizen of the World
      1. It is becoming increasingly clear...
      2. Strategies for becoming a citizen of the world
    32. Day Twenty-Seven. Do Something, Anything, to Help Make the World Better
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for contributing to a more just world
    33. Day Twenty-Eight. See Your Development Occurring in Stages
      1. Be on the lookout for...
      2. Strategies for moving through the stages
    34. Day Twenty-Nine. Educate Yourself
      1. Place the cultivation of your mind...
      2. Strategies for self-education
    35. Day Thirty. Figure Out Where to Go from Here
      1. Focus your energy today on...
      2. Strategies for taking the next steps toward development
    36. Reading Backwards
    37. Recommended Readings to Augment the Strategies
    38. Appendix. Glossary of Terms
      1. References
    39. Index
    40. FT Press
  6. Now You’re Thinking: Change Your Thinking... Transform Your Life
    1. Copyright Page
    2. Dedication Page
    3. Praise for Now You’re Thinking!
    4. Foreword
    5. Acknowledgments
    6. About the Authors
    7. Introduction
    8. Amenah’s Story
      1. What Is a Miracle?
    9. Chapter 1. How Your Mind Works—Some Assembly Required
      1. Dreams
      2. Feelings
      3. Thinking
      4. Summary
      5. Endnotes and References
    10. Chapter 2. A New Way of Thinking
      1. Five Steps to New Thinking
      2. Summary
      3. Endnotes
    11. Chapter 3. Take Stock of Your Style
      1. Understanding Your Thinking Styles
      2. Making the Best Use of Thinking Styles
      3. Summary
    12. Chapter 4. Change Your Thinking...Transform Your Life
      1. Getting Started
      2. My Thinking Styles
      3. Use This Checklist to Improve Your Thinking
      4. Tips for the Five Steps to Develop Your Thinking Skills NOW
      5. Let Yourself Experience Success
      6. Summary
    13. Appendix A. Characters
    14. Appendix B. Cognitive Biases: Common Mental Mind Traps
      1. Grabbing Glory and Pushing Blame (Step 2: Recognize Assumptions)
      2. Asking the Wrong Questions (Step 3: Evaluate Information)
      3. Curious Conclusions (Step 4: Draw Conclusions)
      4. Endnote
    15. Appendix C. Resources
      1. Online Resources and Social Media
      2. Books for Professional Development
      3. Resources for Students
      4. Training
    16. Index
    17. FT Press

Product information

  • Title: Better Your Life (Collection)
  • Author(s): Linda Elder, Richard Paul, Judy Chartrand, Stewart Emery, Russ Hall, Heather Ishikawa, John Maketa
  • Release date: August 2013
  • Publisher(s): Pearson
  • ISBN: 9780133742411