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Creating a Legacy ™

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life – Part 6

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Different Ways of Thinking

Life is a trek, and we are all in this trek together. Each day as we gain wisdom and insight, let us do all that we can to live life each day so that we are leaving a legacy.

We have stopped by waypoints 1-9 so far, so we only have three more to go.  I encourage you to apply each waypoint to your life so that you can become more wise and successful. Let’s continue on life’s trail until we reach waypoints 10 and 11.

As we ended our previous Wisdom Note, I asked you to consider two more questions:

  1. Am I consciously rejecting the limitations of common thinking in order to accomplish uncommon results?
  2. Am I consistently searching the minds of others to think “over my head” and achieve compounding results?

Consider these questions each day and apply them to your life. This will help you to change your thinking and start down the trail to a changed life. As we are on this trek of life together, one of the most important ways of thinking is found at our 10th waypoint.

10. Practice Unselfish Thinking

Unselfish thinking is beneficial because it enables personal fulfillment, adds value to other people, and increases the quality of your life. When you engage in unselfish thinking, you become part of something greater than yourself. It is only possible to create a long lasting legacy by thinking unselfishly and investing in others. Here are five ways to cultivate the ability to think unselfishly:

  • Put others first. When you think unselfishly you make a commitment, both mentally and emotionally, to look out for others’ interests.
  • Find situations where people have needs. One way to practice unselfish thinking is for you to find situations where people have needs and then do something about it. At first, the kind of giving you provide is not all that important; the goal is for you to learn how to give.
  • Give quietly or anonymously. After learning how to give, you must learn how to give when nothing is provided to you in return. Anonymous giving results in spiritual, mental, and emotional benefits.
  • Invest in people intentionally. Consider different people and their journey, and then work together with them. To possess the characteristics of an unselfish thinker, you must make sure the other person in a relationship wins first.
  • Continually monitor motives. It is in your human nature for you to put yourself first. This is true of everyone. It is important for you to examine your motives to ensure that you are not acting for selfish reasons.

As we look at unselfish thinking, it reminds me of verse 24 of Hebrews 10,“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.” 

Focus Question: “Am I continually considering others and their journey in order to think with maximum mutual aid?”

“When you engage in unselfish thinking, you become part of something greater than yourself.”

11. Rely on Productive Thinking

In your life, being useful and productive determines whether you are succeeding or not. However, money is certainly not the primary measure of success. The primary measure of success is to determine if you are achieving the desired results in your life and if your life is positively impacting the lives of others.

Productive thinking provides clarity by providing a benchmark to measure activity. Decisions also become easier when the desired outcome is determined. Success in the future relies on recognizing if you have been productive today.  No matter what the desired result is for an activity, it can be improved through good thinking that turns ideas and dreams into results. There are five ways that you can learn to become a more productive thinker:

  • Identify the results desired. The results may be large or small objectives. Regardless of the size, the desired results must be as specific as possible.
  • Make the results the measuring point. All activities in your life should be consistent with your values, which should not be compromised.
  • Create a plan to achieve your results. Plans must be designed so that your smaller goals add up to your overall objective for the season of life you are in.
  • Ensure that family and friends help you towards your objectives. Your family, friends, and associates should know and understand what your life values and objectives are and what role they may assist with.
  • Choose a system that will help you with your objectives. The systems and methods in your life must reinforce achievement of your objectives and the results you desire.
Productive thinking helps us to grow in our character as mentioned in Apostle Peter’s 2nd letter in chapter 1 verses 8 and 9, “The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.”

Focus Question: “Do I stay focused on productive thinking so that I can gain the maximum results and reap the full potential of my thinking?” 

We need to learn and then adopt the thinking habits of unselfish and yet productive thinking in our lives. These are traits or 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.