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Unhappiness is best defined as the difference between our talents and our expectations.

Edward de Bono

Simplicity before understanding is simplistic; simplicity after understanding is simple.
EDWARD DE BONO

Simplicity Understand
The awful thing is that you can never be aware of what you are not aware of.
EDWARD DE BONO

Aware Awful Yourself
Lateral thinking is the process of using information to bring about creativity and insight restructuring. Lateral thinking can be learned, practised and used. It is possible to acquire skill in it just as it is possible to acquire skill in mathematics.
EDWARD DE BONO

Creativity Information Mathematics Process Thinking
On trade, our hypocrisy is at its most appalling. Trade reform isn’t about charity, it’s about justice, and this campaign, Trade Justice is an unstoppable idea.
EDWARD DE BONO

Charity Hypocrisy Idea Justice Stop Trade
To develop thinking as a skill, it should be deliberate, focused, confident, and enjoyable.
EDWARD DE BONO

Confidence Development Enjoyment Skills
It is historical continuity that maintains most assumptions, not repeated assessment of their validity.
EDWARD DE BONO

Assume History Maintain Repeat Valid
One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity.
EDWARD DE BONO

Aspect Creativity Important Motivational Powerful Source Willing
We do not make very full value of the opportunities provided by technology because we prefer critical to constructive thinking, argument to design.
EDWARD DE BONO

Argument Criticism Design Opportunity Technology Value
Logic will never change emotion or perception.
EDWARD DE BONO

Change Emotion Logic Perception
They enjoy thinking. They enjoy being creative. They enjoy having ideas. Most people do not enjoy thinking at all.
EDWARD DE BONO

Creativity Enjoyment Ideas Thinking
If you do not design the future, someone or something else will design it for you.
EDWARD DE BONO

Design Future Yourself
The purpose of science is not to analyze or describe but to make useful models of the world. A model is useful if it allows us to get use out of it.
EDWARD DE BONO

Allow Analysis Description Purpose Science
A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen.
EDWARD DE BONO

Complete Memories
Only the human brain can deliberately change perceptions, change patterns, invent concepts and tolerate ambiguity.
EDWARD DE BONO

Brain Change Concept Human Pattern Perception Tolerate
Perception is real even when it is not reality.
EDWARD DE BONO

One Liner Perception Reality
The vertical thinker says: ‘I know what I am looking for.’ The lateral thinker says: ‘I am looking but I won’t know what I am looking for until I have found it.’
EDWARD DE BONO

Finding Philosophy Thinking
Don’t criticise a hypothesis, come up with a better one.
EDWARD DE BONO

Better Criticism Oneself
Intelligence is something we are born with. Thinking is a skill that must be learned.
EDWARD DE BONO

Born Intelligence Learning Skill Thinking
Creativity is a great motivator because it mades people interested in what they are doing.
EDWARD DE BONO

Creativity Greatness Interest Motivational People
The image that concerns most people is the reflection they see in other people’s minds.
EDWARD DE BONO

Image Mindset People Reflection
Many highly intelligent people are poor thinkers. Many people of average intelligence are skilled thinkers. The power of a car is separate from the way the car is driven.
EDWARD DE BONO

Drive Intelligence People Poor Thinking
A myth is a fixed way of looking at the world which cannot be destroyed because, looked at through the myth, all evidence supports the myth.
EDWARD DE BONO

Destroy Evidence Support Way World
I’m tired of dreaming. I’m into doing at the moment. It’s, like, let’s only have goals that we can go after.
EDWARD DE BONO

Dreams Goal Moments
Once a new idea springs into existence, it cannot be unthought. There is a sense of immortality in a new idea.
EDWARD DE BONO

Existence Ideas Immortal Spring
Maybe the social value of truth is as a destination – so long as we do not assume we have arrived there.
EDWARD DE BONO

Arrival Destination Social Truth Value
It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.
EDWARD DE BONO

Better Enough Ideas Right Wrong
We need creativity in order to break free from the temporary structures that have been set up by a particular sequence of experience.
EDWARD DE BONO

Break Creativity Experience Freedom Need Order Temporary

Unhappiness is best defined as the difference between our talents and our expectations.

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Unhappiness is best defined as the difference between our talents and our expectations.

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