I recently came across an interesting article that talks about the sixteen habits of mind necessary to achieve success in life (the definition of success being subjective). They are below:
When we no longer know what to do we have come to our real work and when we no longer know which way to go we have begun our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings. – Wendell Berry
1. Persistence
Persistence is the twin sister of excellence. One is a matter of quality; the other, a matter of time. – Marabel Morgan
2. Emotional Competence
….goal directed self-imposed delay of gratification is perhaps the essence of emotional self-regulation: the ability to deny impulse in the service of a goal, whether it be building a business, solving an algebraic equation, or pursuing the Stanley cup. – Daniel Goleman Emotional Intelligence (1995) p. 83
3. Listening with understanding and empathy
Listening is the beginning of understanding….. Wisdom is the reward for a lifetime of listening. Let the wise listen and add to their learning and let the discerning get guidance – proverbs 1:5
4. Thinking Flexibly
If you never change your mind, why have one? – Edward deBono
5. Thinking about thinking
When the mind is thinking it is talking to itself – Plato
6. Striving for accuracy and precision
A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it is committing another mistake. -Confucius
7. Questioning and posing problems
The formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill. To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advances – Albert Einstein
8. Applying past knowledge to new situations
“I’ve never made a mistake. I’ve only learned from experience.” – Thomas A. Edison
9. Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision
I do not so easily think in words…. after being hard at work having arrived at results that are perfectly clear…Â I have to translate my thoughts in a language that does not run evenly with them – Francis Galton, Geneticist
10. Gathering data through all senses
Observe perpetually -Henry James
11. Creating, imagining and innovating
The future is not some place we are going to but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination.” – John Schaar, Political Scientist, University of Santa Clara. Author, Loyalty in America
12. Responding with wonderment and awe
The most beautiful experience in the world is the experience of the mysterious.” – Albert Einstein.
13. Taking responsible risks
There has been a calculated risk in every stage of American development–the pioneers who were not afraid of the wilderness, businessmen who were not afraid of failure, dreamers who were not afraid of action. – Brooks Atkinson
14. Finding humor
Where do bees wait? At the buzz stop – Andrew, Age six
15. Thinking interdependently
Take care of each other. Share your energies with the group. No one must feel alone, cut off, for that is when you do not make it. – Willie Unsoeld Renowned Mountain Climber
16. Learning continuously
Insanity is continuing to do the same thing over and over and expecting different results. – Albert Einstein