“You learn to think, by thinking”, she said, as my ABP facilitator, Dr. Yetunde gave a run-down of the course in, “The Analysis of Business Problems” introductory video. If there was any doubt that my experience at the Lagos Business school would be as therapeutic as it promises to be enriching in other apparent spheres, I got that confirmation now. The statement was concise, apt and hit home for me and, I was stuck in the moment as the rest of the video played through (of course, I would eventually play-back to consume what the rest of the video had for me).

Funny, is it not? That I would dwell so much on this particular statement as, you will get to find out that, this is the subject of this entire write-up. First, let me enlarge this bubble by saying that, this was just one of my many “pause time to reflect moments” through the course of the video (how tedious it is to watch even 4.25 minutes long video) and, this happens with everything else, every other course, conversation, thought, and in every area of my life – story of my life! I mean, I know it is great to be a thinker, as I have believed myself to be, over the course of my ongoing life but, it too, has its cons- the worst of them all being that, it steals time from me.

Maybe you are already getting a visual as to why this is what I am on about, maybe not. So, I will stop beating about the bush now. I had recently come to a conclusion that I needed to stop thinking altogether because of the toll it as taking on me – the unproductivity from wasted time doing several re-runs in my mind and, the depth of emotions that would well up within and sometimes, eventually cause me to lose focus of the initial focus. I was about to end it all and revert to listening to, doing and saying things spontaneously without much thought. I was going to begin to deny myself the satisfaction of finding safety in thinking extensively about a matter before making a decision so I could save time and enjoy life at “first sight” or as the case may be in this matter,” first thought”.

However, those words Dr. Yetunde uttered, ministered to me and immediately, modified my perspective. The solution I need may not be to abstain from thinking entirely but, to improve the way I would habitually go about it. I’d have to hone my thinking competence into a more beneficial skill that will breed more rewarding outcomes than I have been able to previously attain. This will certainly be therapeutic in helping me slough off all the excesses that spur up dampening emotions and, cause time wastage.

Two key conclusions; Firstly, it is now apparent to me in a way that it has never been before that, there is a right way to go about thinking that I can only master through thinking itself. Secondly, I can remedy any retardations associated to thinking as I develop into a skillful thinker.

MMBA3 #IWRITE #AVANTE-GARDE