Active Vs Passive Mind

Active vs Passive Mind

Passive minds wait idly for facts to imprint knowledge onto their brains.

Active minds don't wait. Instead, they constantly seek out knowledge by actively asking intelligent questions in order to discover facts.

But it is important to know that becoming an educated individual, requires more than simply accumulating an ever-increasing number of facts.

To become educated requires the development of a mind, which seeks not only facts, but also their causes.

In ancient Greece, the great philosophers taught that the ability to understand the causes of facts was more important than learning the facts themselves, because the facts change daily, but the underlying causes of facts remain the same.

Classical Greek philosophers taught that the ability to identify causes, was the greatest intellectual endowment; so, its development was seen as the primary purpose of formal education. Aristotle wrote that the best life was one that was devoted to "truth seeking", because the "Truth Seeking Citizen" is always pleasant, successful and interesting.

In order to develop an active mind, it is necessary to learn its three basic rules.

1. The law of Universal Causation.

"Every event is caused by the conditions that preceded it".

That is, there are NO causeless events. Things don't "just happen".

So, if you want to know why something happened, then you must look at the past and examine the conditions that led up to the event.

This is why scientists seek to isolate events, (preferably under conditions that they can control) in order to investigate the specific set of conditions under which the event always occurs, and in the absence of which, it never occurs.

2. The law of cause and effect

"Under the same set of specific causal conditions, the same effect will always occur".

This law implies two other rules:

• "If you want a particular effect to happen, then you must initiate its specific causes". Merely wanting, hoping or praying that something will occur is not enough to make it happen - you must actively discover its causes and put them in place. If you don't initiate the causes, then you won't get the effect you wish for.
• "If you initiate a particular set of causes, then the effects of those causes must inevitably be produced". Which is why nobody can indefinitely escape the painful consequences of their bad habits or wrong actions; bad actions produce bad consequences.

3. Uniformities of coexistence.

Just because two things always occur together, does NOT necessarily mean that they are causally connected, because they may both be the consequence of a SHARED cause. For example, poverty and crime often are seen together, but that does NOT mean:

• Poor people are more likely to be criminals.
• Wealthy people are less likely to be criminals.
• If you give criminals money, they will stop committing crimes.

From the above notes, we can see that the possession of an active mind is NOT a thing of chance, but is the result of a careful study of the rules of effective thinking.

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

If you would like to know more about how to solve problems and achieve goals, please attend our Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Course. Critical thinking empowers business leaders and managers to identify inconsistencies in their plans and replace errors with coherent, logical thought and action.

Definition: active mind

In personal development, an active mind is a mindset that always questions, hunts for causes, links cause and effect, and tests ideas. It never waits for facts to arrive; it seeks them, asks why they happen, and uses the answers to guide action. Without these four traits, the mind slips back into a passive state.

Article Summary

An active mind never waits; it asks why, tracks cause and effect, and then acts. A passive mind sits and hopes. When you swap waiting for questioning, you use the laws of cause and effect to solve problems and shape your world.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some questions that frequently get asked about this topic during our training sessions.

Thought of something that's not been answered? Ask Us Today!

Did You Know: Key Statistics

About the Author: Chris Farmer

Chris Farmer is the founder of the Corporate Coach Group and has many years' experience in training leaders and managers, in both the public and private sectors, to achieve their organisational goals, especially during tough economic times. He is also well aware of the disciplines and problems associated with running a business.

Over the years, Chris has designed and delivered thousands of training programmes and has coached and motivated many management teams, groups and individuals. His training programmes are both structured and clear, designed to help delegates organise their thinking and, wherever necessary, to improve their techniques and skills.

Blogs by Email

Do you want to receive an email whenever we post a new blog? The blogs contain article 5-10 minutes long - ideal for reading during your coffee break!

Further Reading in Personal Effectiveness

• Sustainable Success
  Learn sustainable success: work hard, rest well, avoid burnout. Get a simple formula to guard mental and physical health and keep high output for decades.
  Read Article >
• How to persuade someone to do something
  Discover six easy persuasion tips that prove your idea, show personal gain and keep tasks simple and fun, so you can persuade someone and gain support fast.
  Read Article >
• How ARE you doing? What an excellent question
  Turn the everyday greeting into a true self assessment. Compare this year to last, your goals, peers and perfection, then use the insight to improve every year.
  Read Article >
• Make every day a work day: Every day a study day
  Success daily habits beat overnight wins. Learn why success is not an event, how to pay the price in advance, and which daily steps build a winner mindset.
  Read Article >
• What is autosuggestion?
  Learn how autosuggestion turns self-talk into a mental training tool. Follow simple steps to replace negative thoughts, build confidence and improve performance
  Read Article >

Looking for Personal Development Training?

If you're looking to develop your Personal Effectiveness Skills, you may find this Personal Development Training Course beneficial:

Open Training Course Pricing and Availability

Next Open Course Starts in 7 days, Birmingham City, places available Book Now >