--- description: Set goals title: 7 Ways to Think More Strategically image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4eb9e8e4e1c0d452/6988604c8e06017e23461fdb/brain-health-illo.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Careers & Workplace](/tag/careers-workplace/) ## Careers & Workplace Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 7 Ways to Think More Strategically by [Drake Baer / Business Insider](/author/business-insider/) ## Drake Baer / Business Insider Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 24, 2015 8:22 PM CUT  Illustration by Sydney Rae Hass for TIME by [Drake Baer / Business Insider](/author/business-insider/) ## Drake Baer / Business Insider Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 24, 2015 8:22 PM CUT Harvard education scholar Shari Tishman wants to ask you two questions: * Can you play the piano? * Do you play the piano? The queries are less similar than they seem — and they tell you something about how you learn. “These are different questions,” [she writes](https://learnweb.harvard.edu/alps/thinking/docs/article2.html "undefined"), “and your answer may well be ‘yes’ to the first and ‘no’ to the second.” How so? “The first question asks about ability,” she continues in [a 1992 paper](https://learnweb.harvard.edu/alps/thinking/docs/article2.html "undefined"). “If you sat down in front of a piano, could you play a tune? The second tacitly asks much more ─ it goes beyond ability and asks about inclination: Are you _disposed_ to play the piano? Do you like to play? Do you play regularly?” This same distinction — between ability and inclination — extends into our mental lives, Tishman says. For instance, [research into reasoning](http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=Perkins%2C+Farady+and+Bushey%2C+1991&btnG=&as%5Fsdt=1%2C33&as%5Fsdtp= "undefined") shows that people can make arguments for either side of an issue when they’re led through the process, showing that they have the _ability_. But [people usually don’t evaluate both sides](http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-win-an-argument-2014-5 "undefined"), since they don’t have the _disposition_. So if you want to be more inclined to critical thinking, you need to know what’s in your toolbox, [just as Warren Buffett would have you do.](http://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffetts-favorite-critical-thinking-exercise-2014-10 "undefined") “Being a good thinker _means_ having the right thinking disposition,” Tishman says, because otherwise you’ll never make full use of your abilities. There are seven such thinking dispositions. [They are](https://learnweb.harvard.edu/alps/thinking/docs/article2.html "undefined"): **1\. The disposition to be broad and adventurous:** The tendency to be open-minded, to explore alternative views; an alertness to narrow thinking; the ability to generate multiple options. **2\. The disposition toward sustained intellectual curiosity:** The tendency to wonder, probe, find problems, a zest for inquiry; an alertness for anomalies; the ability to observe closely and formulate questions. **3\. The disposition to clarify and seek understanding:** A desire to understand clearly, to seek connections and explanations; an alertness to unclarity and need for focus; an ability to build conceptualizations. **4\. The disposition to be planful and strategic:** The drive to set goals, to make and execute plans, to envision outcomes; alertness to lack of direction; the ability to formulate goals and plans. **5\. The disposition to be intellectually careful:** The urge for precision, organization, thoroughness; an alertness to possible error or inaccuracy; the ability to process information precisely. **6\. The disposition to seek and evaluate reasons:** The tendency to question the given, to demand justification; an alertness to the need for evidence; the ability to weigh and assess reasons. **7\. The disposition be metacognitive:** The tendency to be aware of and monitor the flow of one’s own thinking; alertness to complex thinking situations; the ability to exercise control of mental processes and to be reflective. Put together — and used in the appropriate situations — these tendencies allow people to fully engage with knotty intellectual problems. There’s another benefit to having this outlook. The developmental psychologist Carol Dweck [has shown](http://www.businessinsider.com/how-a-growth-mindset-leads-to-success-2014-8 "undefined") that having a growth mindset — where you think your outcomes come through effort rather than innate talent — leads to success for kids and grownups alike. Thinking about your thinking dispositions — rather than how innately smart you are — helps cultivate that attitude. _This_ [_article_](http://www.businessinsider.com/harvard-7-thinking-dispositions-2014-10 "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_Business Insider_](http://www.businessinsider.com "undefined") _More from Business Insider:_ * [3 things the most productive people do differently than the rest of us](http://www.businessinsider.com/3-things-the-most-productive-people-do-differently-than-the-rest-of-us-2015-9 "undefined") * [8 things everyone should do before 8 a.m.](http://www.businessinsider.com/8-things-everyone-should-do-before-8-am-2015-6 "undefined") * [25 quotes from Bill Gates that take you inside the mind of the world’s richest man](http://www.businessinsider.com/quotes-from-bill-gates-worlds-richest-man-2015-9 "undefined") * [9 items you should always have at your desk](http://www.businessinsider.com/9-items-you-should-always-have-at-your-desk-2015-9 "undefined") * [5 times the best leaders say no](http://www.businessinsider.com/5-times-the-best-leaders-say-no-2015-9 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4045316/think-more-strategically/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4045316/think-more-strategically/"},"headline":"7 Ways to Think More Strategically","datePublished":"2015-09-24T20:22:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:10:06.840Z","description":"Set goals","url":"https://time.com/4045316/think-more-strategically/","keywords":["Careers & Workplace","advice","Success topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4eb9e8e4e1c0d452/6988604c8e06017e23461fdb/brain-health-illo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Drake Baer / Business Insider"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4eb9e8e4e1c0d452/6988604c8e06017e23461fdb/brain-health-illo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TIME.com stock health brain","caption":"TIME.com stock health brain","creditText":"Illustration by Sydney Rae Hass for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/careers-workplace/","name":"Careers & Workplace"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4045316/think-more-strategically/","name":"7 Ways to Think More Strategically"}}]}] ```