Knowing what we shouldn’t do is just as important as knowing what we should. In fact, it could be easier to see something wrong in things we already do than to see something right in things we haven’t done. In mind development, it means that we should see how we do things and find what’s wrong with them. We can then take the necessary actions to remove those problems.

Mind development killers The 9 mind development killers I’m about to share are something all of us should be aware of. To be honest, there are some of them I’m dealing with myself. I use this list as a checklist to warn myself if I have done something harmful for my mind development.

Here are the 9 mind development killers you should avoid:

1. Saying that something is boring

Saying that something is boring is a sure way to kill your curiosity and - along with it - your mind development. When you say that something is boring, you create a belief that it’s something negative you should avoid. Unfortunately, that could be a door to new opportunities. You might not understand nor need it now, but someday you might. Whenever you say that something is boring, you have closed one more door of opportunity.

2. Always reading the same kinds of books, blogs, or magazines

You need to branch out to new fields. Again, curiosity plays a big role here. If you aren’t curious, there is little motivation to read something new beyond what you usually read. On the other hand, if you are curious you will be glad to read something different because it’s fun.

3. Only wanting to do the easy stuff

Often we just want to do things that do not require significant effort. While this may make you feel comfortable, it won’t do you much in developing your mind. You should be willing to try something challenging that takes you out of your comfort zone.

4. Feeling good enough

If you feel that you are already good enough in something, you won’t have the drive to improve yourself. At best, your improvement will only be modest. It’s especially dangerous when you feel that you are successful. Steve Jobs gave us good advice we should all remember: “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

5. Stop asking why

Often we are to busy doing things that we forget to ask why. We forget to ask why we do it in the first place. We forget to ask why we do it that way. Are you sure you need to do that? And even if you do, must it be done that way?

Just accepting conventional wisdom without asking why is a common mind development pitfall. It could kill the mind development of not only one person but also the entire community.

6. Saying “I’m not creative”

If you think that only certain people can be creative and you are not one of them, you are creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. Your belief is your limit. You won’t be creative if you think you aren’t. But the fact is everyone is creative. You are creative. So stop creating self-imposed limitations and start using your creativity.

7. Only having people who agree with you

If the people around you always agree with you, you miss a chance to develop your mind. While we can learn from people who agree with us, I believe we will learn much more from people who disagree with us. So expose yourself to more diverse kinds of people that have different perspectives.

8. Afraid of dreaming big dreams

Perhaps you failed in the past. Or perhaps people said that you won’t succeed. All these could make you afraid of dreaming big dreams. But if your dreams are small, your challenges will also be small and you won’t learn much. Only by dreaming big dreams can you stretch your brain muscles and achieve your full potential. So have the right mindset about failure and enlarge your dreams.

9. Not having role models

Role models act as pacers whom you try to pursue. They are concrete examples of the qualities you want to achieve. Without having concrete examples, it would be difficult for you to know whether and how something can be achieved.

In mind development, you can find people who have big dreams and beliefs despite being in difficult situations. You can also find people who have good intellectual discipline (e.g. reading one book one week) or generate ideas productively. Whatever trait it is you want to emulate, find your role models.

As I said above, this list can be used as a checklist to check whether or not you have done something harmful for your mind development.

Do you know of other mind development pitfalls? I would love to hear them.

了解什么是我们不应该做的和了解什么是我们应该做的同样重要。事实上，从我们所为中发现失误比从我们所尚未为中看到正确的东西更容易。在心智发展中，则意味着，我们应该看到我们做事的方式并发现其中的问题。由此我们可以采取必要的措施解决其中的问题。

心智发展杀手，也就是我要谈到的阻碍心智发展的9大杀手，是我们所有人都应该清楚的事情。如实地说，其中一些，也正是我自己遇到的。我将其作为一个清单，用以提醒自己是否做出什么有害自己的心智发展。

以下就是这我们应该避免的（阻碍我们）心智发展的9大杀手：

1。 认为某些事单调无聊

认为（某些）事情单调无聊的想法无疑会扼杀你的求知欲，同时也扼杀你的心智发展。当你认定一个事物无聊时，你就产生了一个本该避免的消极信念。非常不幸，这本来可以是通往新机遇的一扇门。你现在不能理解也不需要，而（将来）某一天你可能会（理解和需要）。

任何时候当你认为某事无聊无趣时，意味着你关闭了更多的机遇之门。

2。 总是阅读相同类型的书，博客或杂志

你需要扩展新的领域。此处好奇心起着重大作用。如果你缺乏好奇心，就没有动力去阅读你通常接触范围之外的新事物。相反，如果你好奇心强，你就会很高兴阅读一些不同的东西，因为你会觉得很有趣。

3。只想做容易的事

通常我们只想做一些不需要很大努力的事情。这让你感觉轻松，但同时对你的心智开发却没有太多好处。你应该去尝试一些挑战性的事物，能带你走出你的温室。

4。 自我满足

如果你在某些方面自我满足，你就没有动力提升自己。充其量，进步也只能有限。如果你觉得自己是成功的，则尤其有害。史蒂夫. 乔布斯的忠告我们都应该记住：“保持渴望。保持自己微不足道的感觉”。

5。 停止探究（问为什么）

常常，我们忙于事务，而忘记探究为什么。我们忘记首先问问我们为什么做，我们也忘记问为什么我们这样的方式做。你确信你需要做它吗？就算要做，必须这样的方式来做吗？

仅仅接受传统常识而不加追问是一种普遍的心智发展缺陷。这种探究精神的缺乏不光会扼杀个人的心智发展，也会扼杀整个社会的心智发展。

6。认为自己没有创造性

如果你认为仅仅某些特定的人们具有创造性，而你不是其中一员，你正在制造一个本身自然会实现的预言。你的信念正是你的局限。如果你认为自己没有创造性，那你当然就不会有创造力。而事实是，每个人（本来）都有创造性。你是富有创造力的。因此，停止制造自我强加的限制，开始动用你的创造力。

7. 只接受意见一致的人

如果你周围的人永远与你意见一致，你就失去了发展心智的机会。如果说我们可以从与我们意见一致的人们那学到东西，我相信我们可以从持有不同意见的人们那学到更多。因此，我们应该主动接触更多各种持有不同观点的人。

8。不敢拥有远大梦想

也许过去你曾经失败过。也许，别人认为你不会成功。所有这些都可能让你不敢做远大梦想。然而，如果你的梦想很小，那么你的挑战也就很小，因此你就不能获得更多。只有通过远大梦想才能施展你的脑细胞，实现你的全部潜能。因此，树立正确的思维习惯，扩大自己的梦想。

9. 缺乏行为榜样

行为榜样就像是跑步比赛中的追赶目标。他们是你想要达成的品质方面的具体榜样。没有具体的榜样，你就很难明白自己是否和怎样实现某些目标。

心智发展中，你能找到那些在困境中仍然拥有远大理想和信念的榜样。你还可以找到拥有良好智力训练的榜样（比如他们每周阅读一本书），或者在卓有成效地产生思想的榜样。不管你想要模仿哪种，你要找到自己的行为榜样。

如同上面我说的，这个列表可以用作一个清单，来检查你是否做出什么对心智发展有害的事情。

或者你还知道其他阻碍心智发展的隐患？我很乐意听取。