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Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life – Part 5

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Unleashing Your Thinking Possibility

The hiking analogies that we use for Wisdom Notes fit so well with our trek through life each day. It is when we take one step at a time over a long period of time that we make the progress we desire. Being on life’s trail allows you to truly experience the full spectrum of human emotion, sometimes all in one day. A moment of frustration and despair is seamlessly followed by peace and beauty. And so it is with life.

Just like in hiking, we need to plan and also take the time to think and rest. So far we have stopped at waypoints 1-7 to analyze our thinking so that we will become more wise and successful. In this edition of our Wisdom Notes, we are working toward waypoints 8 and 9.

Last week I asked you to consider two more questions:

  1. Am I unleashing the enthusiasm of possibility thinking to find solutions for even seemingly impossible problems?
  2. Am I regularly revisiting the past to gain a true perspective and think with understanding?

I do encourage you to consider these questions each week and apply them to your lives. This will help you to change your thinking and start down the trail to a changed life. One of the benefits of hiking on trails that are not used frequently is that we do not have to compete with masses of people as you would on a busy thoroughfare.

This also applies to waypoint 8 where we have just arrived.

8. Question Popular Thinking

Questioning popular thinking can be challenging, but there are valid reasons for you to do so. When people follow a trend, they usually do not give it much thought.

Although you may view popular thinking as a source of safety and security, there is a large difference between acceptance and intelligence. Because popular thinking favors the status quo, it discourages innovation and brings average results. Being an entrepreneur and someone who tends to question anything that the masses are following all my life, I have not had a major issue with this point. Here are five different ways for you to question the acceptance of popular thinking:

  • Think before following. You need to consider what is best, rather than what is popular. When you challenge popular thinking, it means that you will need to step off of the well-worn trail. When you go against popular thinking, you may be blazing your own trail, but it often holds the seed of vision and opportunity that others won’t recognize.
  • Appreciate different types of thinking. When you appreciate the ways that other people think, you open yourself up to embrace innovation and change. It is useful to spend time with people who think differently.
  • Question your own way of thinking. It will be a major temptation to return to a way of thinking that once worked well, even if it is no longer effective. You must realize that your successes of today can often be the enemy of your successes tomorrow.
  • Try new things in new ways. In order to get yourself out of a rut, innovate in small, everyday ways. By thinking unconventionally, you will question the way things are done and look for new options.
  • Get accustomed to being uncomfortable. All change is uncomfortable. Popular thinking is comfortable. When you embrace new ways of thinking and the achievements that will result, you will have discomfort.

Embrace thinking that may not be popular and make decisions based upon what works best and what is right.

“Do not follow what is commonly accepted, unless it proves to be right, just and fair.”

As I think about questioning popular thinking it certainly reminds me of how Christ himself questioned the popular thinking of his day. He questioned the religious leaders continually because they were more interested in self-promotion and preservation than pleasing God.  In Mathew 6 he warned against the self-promotion of the religious leaders on public giving, prayer and fasting.  In Matthew 22:16 when the religious leaders were trying to trap Christ, they proclaimed truth, “’Teacher,’ they said, ‘we know how honest you are. You teach the way of God truthfully. You are impartial and don’t play favorites.'”

Focus Question: “Am I consciously rejecting the limitations of common thinking in order to accomplish uncommon results?”

This brings us to waypoint 9.

9. Benefit from Shared Thinking

When you seek out and value other people’s thoughts, you can accomplish more than you can alone. Shared thinking is faster, more innovative, and stronger than solo thinking. The ideas that result from your shared thinking benefit both you and those that you are sharing with…which brings greater value overall. To benefit from shared thinking, there are five different things that you can do:

  • Value others’ ideas. When you are open to the idea of shared thinking, you become more emotionally secure and value the interactive process.
  • Move from competition to cooperation. When you think cooperatively, you will help to complete the ideas of others. It is then that the best idea forms, rather than one person offering an idea.
  • Have a plan when meeting with others. When you meet with others for shared thinking, always have a reason for the meeting and an expectation of what you will contribute or receive from the discussion.
  • Meet with the right people. Do not choose shared thinking partners based on feelings of friendship or convenience. When you meet with the right people for shared thinking, it will help uncover the best ideas.
  • Bring value to those who are collaborators. Shared thinking is not all about you. Make sure that everyone is bringing and receiving value from your times of sharing.

Shared thinking is clear throughout Scripture also. The one passage that comes to mind today is Matthew 18:19-20, “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” 

“Shared, but not necessarily popular thinking, is crucial for wisdom and success.”

Focus Question: “Am I consistently searching the minds of others to think “over my head” and achieve compounding results?”

We need to learn and then adopt the thinking habits of wise and successful people.

“When thinking, question the popular, but share with the wise.”

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life – Part 4

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The Key to Successful Thinking

I am still running a little behind on the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal as well as in our Wisdom Notes due to my July 8th accident falling from a ladder that will change my life for weeks to come. In fact, I would say as a major life event, it will impact my outlook for the remainder of life. I am producing a series of podcasts on Tuesdays and Thursdays detailing the accident and my trail of recovery. The first three episodes can be found at Day-645 Day-647 and Day-650.

In our trek to change our thinking we have visited waypoints 1-5, so we are making good progress on our trek. Today as we search for waypoints 6 & 7 on our expedition, let us see what advice we can gain so that we can continue to change our thinking.

As we continue on our trail of life this beautiful day, enjoy the sunshine, the soft mountain breeze, and the fragrances of summer after a brief shower. As we visualize this, we soon come upon our 6th waypoint and find our first instructions.

6. Explore Possibility Thinking

To be a possibility thinker you must believe that solutions exist to even the most difficult problems. When you believe something challenging can be done and then succeed at doing it, doors open and others are attracted to you. When you make things happen, it inspires others to create possibilities. When you approach difficult tasks, you have the potential to attain exceptional results. When you embrace possibility thinking, you believe in what you are doing and are energized by it.

There are six different ways to stimulate possibility thinking:

  • Do not focus on what is impossible. Instead, focus on solutions to your problems or challenges in any situation.
  • Stay away from experts. This may seem counter-intuitive to have a mentor, but an expert may see all that could go wrong and may discourage your dreams. It is good to take wise advice, but be leery of those individuals who are self-proclaimed experts.
  • Look for possibilities in every situation. Opposite of the first point, regardless of the circumstances, try to look for positive possibilities.
  • Dream bigger. To encourage possibility thinking, try to stretch yourself outside of your comfort zone. Bigger dreams that are realistic will force you to grow.
  • Question the status quo. It is impossible to stay the same and also improve. Greater possibilities mean that you do not settle for the status quo.
  • Find inspiration from great achievers. One way for you to learn more about possibility thinking is to study great achievers. Anyone who has already achieved a level of wisdom and success also has a story of failure or tragedy.

If you embrace possibility thinking, your dreams will go from molehill to mountain size, and because you believe in possibilities, you put yourself in the position to achieve them.

Focus Question: Am I unleashing the enthusiasm of possibility thinking to find solutions for even seemingly impossible problems?

“If you embrace possibility thinking, your dreams will go from molehill to mountain size.”

Now that we have explored possibility thinking, let us continue on to our next waypoint in thinking.

7. Learn from Reflective Thinking

Today’s fast-paced society does not encourage us to practice reflective thinking, but this practice can help you learn from past experiences and identify what should stay the same and what should change. There are many benefits associated with reflective thinking.It provides you with true perspective, lends emotional integrity to your thinking, clarifies your situations, and increases your confidence in decision making. One of the most important aspects of reflective thinking is your ability to transform your experience into insight.

There are five ways to improve your ability to think in a reflective manner:

  • Set aside time for reflection. If you do not dedicate time for reflective thinking, it is unlikely that you will.
  • Avoid distractions. Reflection requires that you find a place that provides solitude and an escape from your interruptions.
  • Regularly review your calendar or journal. Although calendars are a useful planning tool, they are also good to use during reflective thinking to show how your activities align with priorities.
  • Ask the right questions. Much of the value that is derived from reflective thinking comes when you ask prudent questions.
  • Cement learning through action. You must be intentional about putting your thoughts into action. Once you learn something new, take action on what you have learned so that it will benefit you and help in the process of changing your life.

Focus Question: Am I regularly revisiting the past to gain a true perspective and think with understanding?

Time for reflective thinking can be a real game changer for your life.  Yet few of us take the time to truly reflect. One area that we should reflect on more often is the goodness of our creator.  There are three verses in the 119th chapter in the book of Psalms that encourage us to do so.

Psalm 119:5, “Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees!”

Psalm 119:15, “I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways.”

Psalms 119:55, “I reflect at night on who you are, O Lord; therefore, I obey your instructions.”

We need to explore the possibilities in life and dream big, but we also need to reflect on what is most important in our lives.  As this type of thinking becomes a habit in our lives, it will allow us to grow wise and successful.

For me, being grounded in God’s Word is foundational.  I should always put into practice what I am learning each day.  As Christ’s half-brother James put it in chapter 1 verse 22, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”

It might also be said that “Action is the foundational key to all success.”

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life – Part 3

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Thinking Differently

First, I want to apologize for the delay in this week’s Wisdom Note. On Saturday, July 8th I suffered an accident falling from a ladder that will change my life for weeks to come. In fact, I would say as a major life event, it will impact my outlook for the remainder of life. I am producing a series of podcasts on Tuesdays and Thursdays detailing the accident and my trail of recovery.

In our previous Wisdom Note, we continued with the 2nd of 7 week series about how you can change your life by changing how you think and what you think about.This week we will continue with Part 3.

I am excited to continue on our trek today as we visit waypoints 4 and 5 on our trail in our quest to change our thinking so that we can change our lives. There are 12 waypoints or rest stops plus a couple of planning discussions in all, so if you missed any of the past two Wisdom Notes, please go back and read them. This will give you the foundation for this week’s  Wisdom Notes.

Let’s start down the trail today towards the next waypoint or rest stop.  While I am very much an optimist in life, I am also very much a realist. I always believe the glass is completely full, either with liquid, air, or other substances, but I also know that I may not always want to drink what is in the cup.

So, let’s settle in at our first waypoint or rest stop for this week.

4. Employ Realistic Thinking

Realistic thinking is absolutely essential for success in life. It minimizes your risk by determining in advance what the consequences of different actions might be. By understanding and acknowledging consequences, it is possible to plan for them.

Realistic thinking is absolutely essential for success in life.

By developing contingency plans, you’ll feel and be more secure. Realistic thinking will also lead you to better define objectives or goals so that you can reach them. Through realistic thinking, you can create a solid foundation upon which your ideas can be built upon.
 

This reminds me of the parable that Christ taught us in Luke 6:47-49, “I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it.  It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built.  But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

To improve your realistic thinking abilities, here are five tips:

  • Develop an appreciation for truth. Realistic thinking requires you to face the truth and to take responsibility for its consequences.
  • Gather the facts. An important part of realistic thinking is for you to gather the facts connected to an idea. It can also be useful to study what others have done.
  • Think about the pros and cons. When you analyze the pros and cons associated with an idea, you can gain a more realistic view-point.
  • Envision the worst case scenario. One of the most useful traits of realistic thinking is to uncover, envision, and analyze the worst case scenario about your ideas and plans
  • Align resources with objectives. After analyzing the pros and cons and identifying the worst case scenario, you must then identify gaps between reality and your vision or plans. Once you do identify the gaps fill them.

Focus Question: Am I building a solid foundation on facts so that I can think with certainty?

5. Utilize Strategic Thinking

Strategic thinking enables you to take a long-term view of a situation. This type of thinking has numerous benefits. It can simplify your ideas by breaking them down into manageable pieces, and it also leads you to more precise thinking.You must move beyond a vague idea and identify specific ways to address you issue. By aligning actions with objectives, strategic thinking improves the odds that you are going in the right direction.
 
The following seven steps will help you with strategic thinking:

  • Break down the issue. To focus on your issues most effectively, strategically break them down into smaller parts that are more manageable.
  • Ask why before how. Identify all of the issues first, before jumping and trying to solve them.
  • Identify the real issues and objectives. Ask yourself and others probing questions to uncover the real issues. After you have identified the real issues, often the solution to a problem is simple.
  • Review the available resources. You must consider what resources are available. If this is overlooked, your strategy and plan will fail.
  • Develop a plan. Put the obvious elements in place first to initiate momentum, then build your plan.
  • Include other people if needed. As part of strategic thinking, include the right people to assist you.
  • Repeat the process. Strategic thinking becomes most effective, when you utilize it continuously.

Focus Question: Am I implementing strategic plans that give me direction for today and increase my potential for tomorrow?

We need to learn and then adopt the thinking habits of wise and successful people. It is not enough just to learn something, we must also put it into practice for it to become effective.

“Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty,” Proverbs 21:5.

Think about the two questions that were asked today. Reflect on them. This is an important step in changing your thinking and changing your mind. 

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life – Part 2

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Your Mind and Your Life

In our previous Wisdom Note, we began a 7 week series about how you can change your life by changing how you think and what you think about. This week we will continue with Part 2.

As we continue our thoughts about thinking, we will stop by two more waypoints out of our total of twelve waypoints. At each waypoint, you will have the occasion to reflect on and change how you think. By changing your thinking, these waypoints will allow you to change your life in a positive direction. The discussions for those waypoints will be based on the perspectives and wisdom that I have gained through a life of studying wise individuals that have trekked the trails of life and provided us wisdom and insights from their journeys.

Can changing your thinking really change your life? As I have studied and observed wise and unwise people for over 35 years now, I have found there is a distinct difference between wise and successful people and unwise and unsuccessful people. It usually boils down to how they think!

To grow in wisdom each day, you should be asking yourself the difficult questions that cause you to reflect on your life so that you can expand your world. It is then you will have the ability to impact others to a greater capacity.

We must grow ourselves before we can ever hope to help grow others.

It’s time to break camp now and head towards the next waypoint or rest stop. As we head down the trail today, let us focus on what we learn at each stop and think creatively on how this will help us to live abundantly in all areas as we are creating a living legacy.Wise and successful people practice certain thinking habits, and in order for you to become wise and successful, you need to entrench these same thinking habits into your mind.

2. Engage in Focused Thinking

Focused thinking allows you to think clearly about a problem. This skill helps you to direct energy toward a specific objective, bring more clarity to issues, and take ideas to the next level. When engaging in focused thinking, you should select challenges or areas that are most likely to have the greatest impact.

Here are five ways that you can improve your focused thinking:

  • Eliminate distractions and focus on areas that will provide the greatest impact.
  • Devote time to focused thinking. Although multi-tasking is a popular word in today’s world, it is not conducive to focused thinking. New evidence has shown that we really cannot multitask and, for most people, working on multiple tasks at a time is really counterproductive.
  • Keep items of focus in view. You must concentrate on things that matter. You must keep the important items of focus in front of you.
  • Set milestones. When you set clear objectives, it is easy for the mind to focus.
  • Question your progress. Periodically monitor whether you have made progress. Progress is the best measure of whether your focused thinking is working well.

As you gain wisdom and experience, the need to focus becomes more critical. The more you grow, the more focused you can be – and need to be.

Focus Question: “Am I dedicated to removing distractions and mental clutter so that I can concentrate with clarity on the real issue?” 

3. Harness Creative Thinking

Creative thinking is an important part of how wise and successful individuals think, but we find few people possess this skill. To be a creative thinker you need to value ideas, enjoy exploring options, embrace uncertainty, celebrate the unconventional, connect what is seemingly unconnected, and do not fear failure.

Creative thinking is valuable because it results in a large number of ideas for consideration. To adopt creative thinking you need to be seeking new ideas and learning more.

Here are five ways to stimulate your creativity:

  • Avoid spending too much time with “creativity killers.” Creativity killers are people who are comfortable with the status quo and do not embrace new ideas. When you have a great idea, you must not let anyone dissuade you.
  • Ask the right questions. If you are going to think creatively and to challenge the status quo, it is necessary that you ask good questions.
  • Develop a creative environment for yourself. Negative environments destroy great ideas, but creative environments are like greenhouses where your great ideas are cultivated. Focus on innovation and allow yourself to dream.
  • Spend time with other creative people. One way to counteract a negative environment is to spend time with creative people. Creativity tends to be contagious. Spend time with those that bring out the best in you.
  • Get out of “your box.” It is easy to get stuck in the same routines. One of the best ways to avoid this is for you to seek out new paradigms through travel or reading about new subjects.

Focus Question: “Am I working to break out of my “box,” exploring ideas and options, so I can experience  a creative breakthrough?”

When reflecting on these two waypoints for today, we see how proper thinking provides a person with wisdom and ability. This brings to my mind when Moses was planning for the construction of the tabernacle. He needed to select people who were both focused and creative in their thinking, evident in Exodus 35:25, “All the women who were skilled in sewing and spinning prepared blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen cloth.” Also in verse 31 we see, “The Lord has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts.” The entire 35th chapter of Exodus is a very interesting read. I would highly recommend.

Think about the two questions that were asked today. Reflect on them. This is an important step in changing your thinking and changing your mind.

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life – Part 1

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The Most Important Change

In last week’s  Wisdom Note, we explored The Results of Thinking Big. This week we will expand on the topic of thinking and focus on how your life will change if you are willing to change your thinking.

As we continue our thoughts about thinking, we are beginning a several week series of  Wisdom Notes during which we will stop at twelve waypoints or rest areas along the trail. At each waypoint, we will have the occasion to reflect on and change how we think. By changing our thinking, these waypoints will allow us to change our lives in a positive direction. The discussions for those waypoints will be based on the perspectives and wisdom that I have gained through a life of studying wise individuals that have trekked the trails of life and provided us wisdom and insights from their journeys.Before we reach our first waypoint, let us contemplate this question. Can changing your thinking really change your life? As I have studied and observed wise and unwise people for over 35 years now, I have found there is a distinct difference between wise and successful people and unwise and unsuccessful people. It usually boils down to how they think! Correct thinking is the one thing that separates the wise from the unwise and the successful from the unsuccessful.

Correct thinking is the one thing that separates the wise from the unwise.

As we wander down a rabbit trail a bit further, I think it is necessary to explain a little about how we will view each of these waypoints. I will be using a wise and successful person as equivalent or the same. In order to do this, we must first separate in our thoughts that a successful person is not necessarily just a wealthy person. Wealth does not determine overall success in a person’s life.

Now, those individuals that are wise, many times, are also wealthy. This is because of the wise financial choices that they have made during their lives. But, there are many individuals who are wealthy financially but are not successful in the most important areas of their lives. This is because they have made unwise choices in areas that matter most. Proverbs 28:11 says, “Rich people may think they are wise, but a poor person with discernment can see right through them.” 

To be truly successful we need to have achieved success in all areas of life. We need to have a well-rounded “wheel of life” so that our overall ride in life is smooth. During the next several weeks of Wisdom Notes, we will explore how to be successful in all areas of life, but for this week’s journey, let’s focus on the 1st of 12 waypoints along our trail in order to change our thinking and change our lives.

The good news is that it’s possible for you to learn how to think like a wise and successful person. But, before you can learn from a good thinker, you need to know what he looks like.

For me, the primary trait of a good thinker is a person who blends his wisdom and experience into every thought that he has and every decision that he makes. In addition to wisdom and experience, I believe that good thinking isn’t just one thing. It consists of several specific thinking skills.

Becoming a good thinker means developing those “thinking skills” to the best of your ability. Like a finely tuned vehicle with thousands of moving parts, a beautifully sounding orchestra with dozens of instruments all playing at the same time, or a smartphone or computer with thousands of integrated circuits all interconnected, you can’t point to any one single item that makes the whole thing work. It’s the entire work — all the pieces working together to create an overall effect — that leads to a masterpiece.

Good thinking is similar. You need all the thinking “pieces” in order to become the kind of person who can achieve great things. I believe that those pieces include twelve essential skills, which we will cover in the next several weeks of our Wisdom Notes

We have taken some time on our rabbit trail today to lay the groundwork for the 12 waypoints that we will investigate. As with any worthwhile and difficult trek, planning and preparation are crucial for success. We will just get started on our trek today with Waypoint #1. At each waypoint, I will leave you with a question that you can ask yourself to measure your own thinking. Let’s begin.

1. Cultivate Big-Picture Thinking

We have covered this subject matter in detail in our two previous Wisdom Notes. If you have not done so already, I would encourage you to read the previous two notes, as they will greatly help in your understanding of cultivating big-picture thinking. As we are investigating the details of this waypoint, let’s expand on the previous two Wisdom Notes.

A big picture perspective brings a level of maturity to an individual’s thinking. Big picture thinkers tend to learn continually, listen intentionally, look expansively, and live completely. Through lifelong learning, big picture thinkers are able to connect ideas that appear at first glance to be unrelated to one another.

Big picture thinking is beneficial for people who want to become leaders. Good leaders are able to create a compelling vision, map a path for attaining that vision, and seize the right moment to proceed. Big picture thinkers are better able to see things from other people’s points of view. They think of others first as mentioned in Philippians 2:3-4, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”

“Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”

Big picture thinkers exhibit the following four traits:

  1. They do not require certainty. When dealing with new or complicated ideas, it is necessary to accept some degree of uncertainty.
  2. They learn from every experience. It is essential to learn from both successes and failures.
  3. They gain insight from many different people. Important insights can be gained from family, friends, associates, and mentors.
  4. They are not afraid to expand their world. Although most people are satisfied with the status quo, big picture thinking requires people to go beyond what is commonplace.

The question that I will leave you with at this waypoint is, “Am I thinking beyond myself and my world so that I process ideas with a holistic perspective?”