5 Inspiring Stories Teaching You About High-Level Thinking Skills(The more you read, the deeper you'll understand)

The Blind Man and the Lantern A blind man visits a relative's house.

As it was dark when he left, the kind relative lit a lantern for him to navigate easily. The relative said, "It's dark outside, take this lantern so you won't stumble." The blind man replied, "You know I'm blind, yet you give me a lantern. Are you mocking me?" The relative explained, "Your thinking is narrow. The road isn't just for you; others pass by too. If you carry the lantern, others will see you, and they won't bump into you." The blind man nodded in acknowledgment.

⇒ Narrow thinking focuses on personal views, while holistic thinking involves considering the broader environment.

By thinking systematically, you'll realize that your actions always interact with others.

Christopher Columbus's Egg

After Columbus discovered America, many thought it was just luck. At a banquet, a nobleman asked Columbus: "Sir Columbus, we all know America is right there, and you just happened to stumble upon it! If we went, we would have found it too."

Facing this challenging question, Columbus remained calm. He placed a boiled egg on the table and said, "Can anyone here make this egg stand upright?". Everyone eagerly tried but failed.

Finally, Columbus lightly tapped the egg, causing it to stand on its crushed end. The room fell silent. Then, in unison, they exclaimed, "Oh, that's nothing special. Anyone can do that." Columbus then said, "Exactly, it's just that simple. Discovering America was as easy as making this egg stand. But tell me, before I did it, did anyone succeed?"

⇒ Witnessing something done makes it seem easy. However, discovering something new is a difficult journey.

Similarly, creativity is simple; the challenge lies in daring to think and act.

The Fate of Two Builders

Three builders were constructing a wall.

A passerby asked, "What are you doing?".

The first builder angrily replied, "Can't you see? Building a wall."

The second smiled and said, "We're building a skyscraper."

The third, sitting nearby, smiled brightly and happily said, "We're building a new city."

Ten years later, the first builder was still building walls at different sites, the second had become an engineer, and the third had become the owner of the other two's projects.

⇒ What seems ordinary work now is the beginning of a great enterprise.

Understanding this means you can create a significant enterprise.

The Smart Boy

One day a mother took her son to a grocery store. The store owner, seeing the cute boy, offered him a candy, but the boy did nothing. After some insistence, the owner put a handful of candy in the boy's pocket. When they returned home, the mother asked why he didn't take the candy himself but let the store owner do it. The boy replied, "Because my hands are small, and his are big. Letting him take it ensures I get more!"

⇒ This boy is smart; he knows his limitations and, more importantly, recognizes others' strengths.

When something can't be done alone, learn to rely on others timely; this is humility and intelligence.

Two Monks

Two monks lived in neighboring temples with a stream between them. Every day, they'd go to the stream to fetch water at the same time. One day, the monk from the left temple didn't come. The other monk thought, "Perhaps he's sleeping in." Days passed, but still no sign of him. Concerned, the remaining monk crossed to visit his friend's temple. He found his friend practicing martial arts in the courtyard. Surprised, he asked, "You haven't fetched water for a month now. Don't you need it?" The other monk pointed to a well and said, "For five years, after practice, I've dug this well." "Now I can get water from here without going to the stream, saving more time for practice."

⇒ We often forget the time after work is the time to build our own well, nurture our professional skills in a particular field.

If we know how to use our time, we can be like the monk on the left mountain.

When we are old, we not only have drinking water but also have more time for our hobbies.

Credit: Young Intellectuals