Chapter 12
Superpower Foundation: Critical Thinking
Transformation
Before you read
Kevin poses these at the start of the chapter, deliberately before his own argument. Answer them first if you can.
- 1
What do you think the difference is between doubting yourself and questioning your thoughts and opinions?
- 2
What does it look like when you think critically?
- 3
What do you believe is the connection between values and critical thinking?
What the chapter says
Kevin’s own distillation, in his words — not a summary written for him.
What’s happening in our heads is real and often more important than what’s happening around us.
Critical thinking is considering a topic or idea with a fully open and objective mind.
Critical thinking allows us to make decisions, form opinions, and initiate actions based on reason, facts, and common sense.
Critical thinking requires humility, vulnerability, and self-confidence.
Critical thinking is built on a foundation of values, metacognition, bias awareness, and bias mitigation.
Critical thinking requires embracing the discomfort of honesty, introspection, and living with integrity.
Creative thinking is being open to ideas that are new, different, and/or counter to our usual way of thinking.
In Chapter Twelve, rather than reflective questions, readers and listeners complete an exercise to practice critical thinking. The first step is to identify your core values. You can use the values table from Appendix C to help with this. Then use those identified values to reflect on the following questions:
Are these the values you'd want others to believe define you, and are you willing to accept some discomfort to live by them?
Are they reflected in your routine, or do you find yourself doing things that run counter to them, especially when you're facing challenges, crises, or stress?
Think of a specific time you acted counter to your values. What were the immediate and long-term outcomes, positive or negative? Was it stressful? How did it affect how you felt about yourself and your relationships with others?
Imagine that same situation, but this time acting in line with your values. What would you have done differently, and how might any conversations or outcomes have changed?
Consider how living your values in that moment might have changed your feelings about yourself and the strength of your relationships with others.
Chapter Twelve also includes a role-playing exercise allowing you to reflect on applying your values within various relationships to individuals and organizations using the following questions:
If they're compromising your values, or expecting you to, how are you rationalizing that, and what has it cost you or gained you?
What would it look like to insist on living your own values, and what would it look like to hold the other person accountable to theirs?
Exercise 1
In Chapter Twelve, rather than reflective questions, readers and listeners complete an exercise to practice critical thinking. The first step is to identify your core values. You can use the values table from Appendix C to help with this. Then use those identified values to reflect on the following questions:
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Exercise 2
Chapter Twelve also includes a role-playing exercise allowing you to reflect on applying your values within various relationships to individuals and organizations using the following questions:
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