Why don't we THINK for ourselves anymore?

It's a tragedy - 0ne of humankind's most pervasive (in my humble opinion). We simply do not Think anymore. Even worse, Thinking is no longer a prerequisite for survival. We no longer have to think about any of the wonders that keep us alive - from the food we eat to the water we drink. Ah, some might disagree - why, I Think and make choices every single day! I never speak in absolutes, but hear me out.

As infants, we are filled with natural curiosity and creativity. We are inherently spontaneous, explorers, empiricists. However, as our cognitive abilities develop and we progress through our childhoods, rarely do we retain our creative energy. Instead, we are nurtured and conditioned to be imitators. Our parents enforce some level of religious or moral indoctrination, our education system ingrains textbooks of information into our minds, all while creativity and imagination is suppressed to the lowest priority of our mental development (I highly recommend watching this TED talk).

As our intelligence accumulates, we copy, self-insert, and paste the thoughts of theorists, peers, professors, math books, holy texts, social fabs, etc...but at the expense of developing our intellect - our ability to reason, challenge, and Think. Our penchant to identify with a certain group - religion, company, class, culture, occupation, nation, what have you - is not only self-isolating, but also grants someone else to do your Thinking for you! How much of your knowledge is derived from another person/source versus personally discovered, reasoned, or experienced?

Why does this matter? Direct experience brings us joy, happiness! We try so hard to not be discontent, but it does not come through effort! It does not come through ambition, power, elitism, asceticism, success (you tell me, does it?). Try to recall a time when your creative juices were flowing. I am not necessarily referring to your capacity to paint a picture or write a poem. We have all experienced the moments, however ephemeral, of feeling our creative energies as we directly experience or discover something unknown to ourselves. Remember those moments? How effortless! How natural! How invigorating! How alive we feel!

Don't be afraid. To think for yourself and know yourself, how can you isolate yourself by identifying and believing - so wholeheartedly - in that which you are not? In others who you are not? Otherwise, you would not be discontent. Be like an infant again, and let your walls and inhibitions down. Explore, create, and Think for yourself - without the thousands of outside voices. What follows, will surely be.