The Eye of Thinking

In the previous post in our informal series on thinking we discussed a method of observing, hypothesizing and experimenting as a way to identify and remedy undesirable life circumstances or problems. The effectiveness of this process, however, is utterly dependent upon a certain characteristic. Namely, whether or not the individual utilizing the said process is willing to take personal responsibility to fix the problem, whatever it may be.

Taking responsibility implies that we are going to take action in some form or another. Thus it seems necessary to make a distinction between the things we can control and the things we can't. The former being our most effective option. We know that, strictly speaking, the only thing which we have direct control over is ourselves. That is to say we have direct control over our own actions. In contrast to the things we directly control are the things which we do not, specifically, external circumstances. External circumstances are just that—external—and therefore “outside” of our direct control. The weather, the actions of other people, and random events in life, for example, would all fall under the umbrella of external circumstances. At this point it should be obvious that if we are going to attempt to solve a problem or remedy a given situation, we ought to focus not on the things which are beyond our control, but rather specifically on the things which we are capable of directly affecting. In short, we need to focus on what we can personally do and not on the external circumstances that may exist. It makes no difference in the world what some other person ought to be doing—you cannot control the other person—you can only control yourself.

Consider the likely result when a person fails to take personal responsibility to solve a given problem or circumstance. Take person A, for example, who, rather than seeking to ascertain what they can do to help solve a problem, seeks instead to determine what someone else (say person B) ought to do to fix it. Such a situation would be characterized by a failure to focus on what one can directly control in favor of something one has absolutely no control over—the actions of other people. What would this accomplish? To begin with, unless person B is aware that it is supposedly “his responsibility” to remedy the situation, chances are nothing will be done. Person A will just sit around thinking that person B ought to do something. But on the other hand, if person A confronts person B in order to “get him to do something,” person B could easily turn the situation around and simply respond “that's not my responsibility—get someone else to do it!” It doesn't require very much imagination to see how such a situation could quickly escalate into something far worse than the initial problem. We could further complicate the situation by supposing that person A is in a position of authority over person B and thus, if person B desires to keep their job in good standing, they will do what they've been told. But this is how employees come to resent their bosses. When “the boss” is constantly “pawning off” responsibility for problems on “other people,” the “other people” naturally lose respect for them. Contrariwise, when “the boss” takes responsibility for problems and works to correct them—even if the problems are not “the bosses” fault to begin with—employees will naturally aspire to be more responsible and effective. The likely result then of avoiding personal responsibility to solve a given problem or circumstance—irrespective of what the specifics may or may not be—is not only the probable failure to fix the problem itself, but also the possibility of widespread animosity and pandemonium as well.

The “eye” of thinking should be understood as the “center point” or the heart of thinking, which refers to thinking only in terms of what you can personally do to help a given problem or circumstance. It makes no difference “who's fault” something is. It makes no difference what “someone else” ought to do. The only thing that you have control over is your own actions. If you want to fix a given problem then you must focus on the things that you can do personally to fix it.

Unless of course you would prefer to stress yourself out and frustrate yourself to the very edges of sanity—it's up to you.