Are you a “great” thinker?
There is a constant conversation within our minds, yet we seldom take the time to consider how great an impact it has on our lives. Some of history’s great thinkers realized that our outward life is an expression of our inward conversations and made statements like:
“You are what you think about all day long.”
“You are the sum of your thoughts.”
“Your tomorrow is based on today’s thoughts.”
These are quotes that those who study inspiration and motivation recognize and have heard or read many times. I can’t remember who said each one of them, but I believe that they are factual. I believe that our thoughts produce our lives. Something that is not tangible (our thoughts – you cannot touch one) creates something that is tangible (our lives). Something being created from nothing. That’s a post for another time.
Can we overstate the importance of developing our thinking ability? I don’t believe that we can. But many people blindly rush through life without any idea that they can and do control their own destiny. We’ve all heard, “your future is in your own hands.” However, I think it would be more accurately stated, “your future is in your mind” or in how you choose to use your mind. Here are four ways that you can use your mind to increase your thinking skills.
1. Expose your mind to good input.
I don’t advocate watching television, but I realize that it is a fact of life and we have two in our home. I do believe that they can be used to increase your thinking skills. If you must watch TV, then watch the channels and programs that will promote your thinking. National Geographic, Animal Planet, TLC, Science, Discovery, HGTV, PBS, CNBC. business and financial programs.
Just as lying around on the couch is detrimental to your physical condition, so to does watching crap lead to mental ineptitude. Read more:
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books
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blogs
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magazines
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technical manuals
Find a topic that interests you and become an authority on it.
Ask yourself the following question. If you were at a dinner party could you participate intelligently in conversation about:
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the current political climate, political races or political policies
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your governments involvement in foreign policy
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the war in Iraq
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inflation
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unemployment
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new trends in business
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emerging technologies
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economic growth and development
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books on the best sellers list
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the current “hot” movies
Would you be able to hold up your end of an interesting and stimulating conversation or would you be relegated to nodding and smiling, while hoping that no one asks for your opinion?
Excluding the networks that I have mentioned above and a few news programs, television seldom provides the subject matter for a stimulating and intelligent conversation.
2. Get out of your comfort zone.
Visit a museum, then visit another. Take your children to the zoo, a planetarium or an aquarium. Discus science, technology, politics or religion with your family. Set aside a specific time each week for all family members to present something new they learned during the past week. Then discuss that “new” idea or concept in detail. Ask questions.
Show your children that you are a multi-faceted individual who has thoughts, ideas and great thinking skills. Children emulate what they see and who knows, you may inspire a future Nobel prize winner.
Show your child that there are no benefits in being ignorant. It may look cool on TV, but in “real life”, it’s just sad and economically depressing.
3. Spend some time with good thinkers.
This is almost a no-brainer. You become like the people you hang around. How many times did you hear your mother say that? Guess what? She was right.
I am fortunate in that I am part of a group of thinkers who constantly force me to keep up or get left behind. These are my inner circle and they poke, prod and test my thinking. Each one is very intelligent and each has their own special interests and areas of expertise. But we all make it a point to expect great thinking from each other and typically, you get exactly what you expect.
Good thinkers provoke good thinking. They don’t just ask for your opinion, they expect you to justify and defend it. They test you. Because of my group, I am a better thinker.
Look at the people who occupy space in your life. Do they encourage progressive thinking? If not, you don’t need to get rid of them, but you do need to seek out people who will stimulate your mind and add them to the people you associate with.
4. To stimulate creative thinking, get out of your rut.
By rut, I mean your unconscious, habitual ways of drifting through your daily life. If you stop to think about it, I’ll bet:
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you get dressed in the same way everyday
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you brush your teeth and comb your hair with one or the other hand, but always the same one
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you take the same path to work
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you arrive at about the same time everyday
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…you get the picture.
Being habitual is not conducive to creative thinking. Being different is. Make it a point to do anything and everything differently. This forces your brain to get off of autopilot. Do you remember the act of brushing your teeth this morning? What were you thinking? Chances are, you don’t remember because you were on autopilot.
Anytime that you do things differently, you force your brain into action. It has to adapt. Create new neural pathways. Validate new actions and make adjustments. Doing things differently forces you to “see” things differently. Seeing things differently leads to new and creative insights.
Brush your hair with your less dominant hand ( you can go back over it with the other one later ), change priorities, change pathways, change your life.
Your mind is your most powerful tool for creating the life you desire
It has been estimated that we have about 60,000 thoughts a day. How many do you remember? How many were remarkable? Isn’t it amazing how our mind transitions smoothly from one thought to the next? Each new thought is seamlessly and effortlessly tied to the previous thought and provides the springboard for our next thought.
Take a moment to think about your thinking skills and realize that it is your greatest asset. Your thoughts today will produce your life tomorrow therefore, mediocre thinking today will produce a mediocre tomorrow.
Mediocrity is not acceptable!
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This article is not very old but no one must be reading it, I cannot believe there are not comments. I agree with every “THOUGHT” you have in the article. I wish I would have realized sooner how powerful my thoughts and mind were. I have learned it though, so watch out!!!
I really enjoyed the topic about “… you become who you hang out with…”. My wife and I have so many friends that have problems, yet they never change the crowd that they hang out with day to day. It is obvious looking from the outside, but many people are not aware of who they hang out with.
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