Unit 4 Light from Many Lamps Assignment 2

The story I selected, written by A.J. Cronin (1979), details how he came to realize his dream of writing his first book. At first, the novelty and excitement of writing was extremely motivating for him. As he continued however, he became acutely aware of how much he did NOT know about the act of writing. He became discouraged, eventually throwing away his manuscript.  In the end he came to realize that the choice to retreat to his comfort zone or persist doing something new and difficult was a universal struggle. He decided to persevere with writing and low and behold, the manuscript that he threw away ended up altering his life dramatically. It became a book that was “dramatized, serialized, translated into 19 languages and bought by Hollywood” (p. 149). The obvious message of this story is that the greatest victory we can achieve is victory over ourselves when we demonstrate persistence through challenges.

Many people underestimate the powerful impact that their thinking has over their lives. “Whatever you are doing, whatever you feel, whatever you want–all are determined by the quality of your thinking” (The Foundation for Critical Thinking, n.d.).  As a future transformational servant leader, the most important task before me is the task of taking control over the thoughts of my mind.  As Elder and Paul point out, serious thinking about one’s thinking is rare, and taking control of one’s thinking is not easy work. Gaining victory over my thoughts means “being willing to objectively accept information that refutes what I already think, being willing to suspend my beliefs to fully hear what others are saying” (Elder & Paul, n.d.), being willing to question my motivations, and being willing to challenge my biases. Just as Cronin’s persistence as an author became life changing for him, I am convinced that my pursuit of  the art of critical thinking will be no less of a life-changing experience for myself and those upon whom I will have a future impact.

Cronin, A.J. (1979). The virtue of all achievement is victory over oneself. Those who know this victory can never know defeat. In Watson, L. E. (Ed), Light from many lamps (pp. 147-152). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Elder, L., Paul, R. (n.d.). Becoming a critic of your thinking. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/becoming-a-critic-of-your-thinking/478