Learning Systems Thinking

Part II. You Are a System of Thinking

You can’t improve your thinking if you aren’t aware of your thinking. There are many factors that influence our ability to create conceptual integrity. Self-awareness, also known as metacognition, is the ability to understand and adapt your thinking patterns. Practicing with your own thinking is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the foundation of thinking in systems.

Most of the time, we are reacting to what’s happening around us, rather than practicing self-awareness and learning to respond effectively. This is not a bad thing; there is important information in our reactions. They rarely, though, get us what we need to improve our circumstances. Systems thinking shifts us toward observing the reactive patterns, in our selves, in others, and in the technology system, in order to discover ways to improve those reactive patterns.

Systems thinking is an integrative approach to learning. It is learning all the time, structuring inquiry in ways that generate relevant knowledge. In Part II, you’ll practice self-awareness, of your thinking and your reactions. And you’ll develop a plan for continuous learning that guides you toward knowledge, understanding, and, with any luck, a bit of wisdom.