How to Have a Beautiful Mind

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: How To Have a Beautiful Mind by Edward de Bono.

Excellent techniques for making you an enjoyable person to meet, get to know, to spend time with, in the short and ling term. How to argue without alienated your opponent, be fair, and let go of your ego and needing always to be right. How to be an interesting person, creative, enjoyable, kind! How to be a good listener, patient, interested, pleasant. The avoidance of being critical. How to be co-operative, containing your emotions, making choices, building a life purpose, expressing opinions, taking your turn, being fair to yourself, being constructive, dealing with boredom, finding other people interesting, having something new to say, dealing with anger, and so much more first class advice on how to lead a life that others will respect and admire. 

Much depends on language and unexamined assumptions and expectations. There is a great deal that is described as “all” when “some” is a more suitable word. There is a lot between the words: definitely and possibly. Look at: just possible, possible, likely, very likely, probable, most probable, and certain. Also one could say “this is one possible view of the future, this conclusion does not follow, this is based on a selective perception, this is based on emotions and prejudice, this is right for you, but not for me, it fits with your values”. On the subject of disagreement: do not disagree for the sake of disagreeing. Do not disagree just to show how clever you are or to boost your ego. When you disagree, do so politely and gently rather than rudely and aggressively. You know you might need to point out errors in logic or to show a conclusion that does not necessarily follow. You may need to point out selective perception and particular interpretations of statistics or events. You may need to point out prejudices and stereotypes. You may want to challenge generalisations. You might want to challenge conclusions based on extrapolations that are unproved. Whenever someone predicts the future, it can be challenged. Many arguments occur due to misunderstandings and lack of clarity of the terms used - always ask for full definitions and clarification. Arguments can arise from personal preferences not admitted or hidden agendas. Seek to reconcile where possible. 

The author is a bestseller. Lateral Thinking and Six Thinking Hats are previous books. 

Review: Wendy Stokes https://wendystokes.co.uk