Thinking Skills — Part 4
Look for possibilities
In most situations, experience tells us what will probably happen. It is fairly easy to see probabilities. Far more difficult to see are the possibilities.
The most consistently successful people are those who can look past the probabilities and see all the possibilities.
Ask yourself, what is possible? What could happen?
Look for possibilities by temporarily suspending judgment. Don not limit yourself to thinking about what is most likely to happen. Instead, consider what could happen, no matter how outrageous.
For example, suppose you go out to the garage and find that your car battery is dead and the vehicle won’t start. How can you deal with the situation? Well, the most likely solution would be to ask your neighbor to jump-start your car, then drive to the auto repair shop and get your electrical system checked. But consider the other possibilities: buying a new car, calling a taxi, riding your bicycle, joining a carpool, hiring a limousine and driver, taking the bus, telecommuting, buying a new battery and installing it yourself.
Why should you consider all these other possibilities, when the most "practical" answer is just to jump-start your car? You consider the possibilities, not so much for their own sake, but rather for what they will reveal about your situation. Perhaps this is the sixth major problem with your car in the last three months, and it really would be in your best interest to get a new car. Perhaps you could use some more exercise, and riding your bicycle might be a good idea on days when the weather permits. Perhaps you are so productive that it would pay you to hire a driver so you could get more work done while commuting to and from the office. Considering other possibilities does not preclude you from taking the most sensible course of action.
The point is to open your mind to other ideas. A habit of considering the possibilities will prevent you from getting stuck in a rut. Practice making yourself aware of what is possible.
Stimulate the senses
Researchers have found that sensory stimulation creates electrical activity in the brain, and this accelerates the formation of pathways between brain cells. These pathways, called dendrites, are the basis for intelligence. The more, the better. We are born with a fixed number of brain cells, but there is no limit to the number of connecting pathways that can be created.
This is why many experts recommend exposing unborn children to movement and music while they are still in the womb.
Have you ever noticed that you just seem to think better after a stimulating experience: listening to music, hiking through a beautiful wilderness area, traveling to a new place, feeling the cold wind on your face, tasting a new food, driving through a snowstorm, smelling fresh bread baking.
Our senses deliver complex, dynamic information that challenges us to interpret it. And our minds respond to the challenge with growth. Stimulation builds our sensory vocabulary and adds to our range of experience.
People who have become successful in life very often have homes or offices with magnificent views. Is this just an extravagance, or simply for the purpose of impressing people? Well, yes, in some cases. But remember, people don’t usually get to be successful by being extravagant or showy. Many successful people instinctively realize the importance of a stimulating environment, of being able to look out the window and see a complex, ever-changing panorama. On the surface, the magnificent view might be considered a wasteful extravagance. But in the day to day experience of life, it could indeed be a valuable source of stimulation and inspiration.
Make it a point to stimulate your senses every day, and not always with the same old stuff. Remember to see new sights, taste new food, listen to new sounds, move in different ways — seek out sensations and experiences that are new and challenging.
Click here to download your free E-book, The 10 Steps To Success
-Network Marketing Is A Contact Sport-
Jon Clayton
Phone: 860-265-3655
E-mail: thegetteam (at) gmail (dot) com
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THOT 4 2 DAY — 10.06.08
You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you. — James Allen
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Sunday Quotes 10.05.09
"Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle when the sun comes up, you had better be running." – Unknown
You can’t help someone get up a hill without getting closer to the top yourself. — H. Norman Schwarzkopf
"I learned that we can do anything, but we can’t do everything.. at least not at the same time. So think of your priorities not in terms of what activities you do, but when you do them. Timing is everything." — Dan Millman, Author
"Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal." — Earl Nightingale
"Disgust and resolve are two of the great emotions that lead to change." — Jim Rohn
"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one of them to say ‘Thank You?’" — William A. Ward
You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you. — James Allen
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THOT 4 2 DAY — 10.05.08
"Disgust and resolve are two of the great emotions that lead to change." — Jim Rohn
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Silly Saturday 10.04.08
You gotta love this guy…
HT = Ray Ortlund
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THOT 4 2 DAY — 10.04.08
"Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal." — Earl Nightingale
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Thinking Skills — Part 3
Or are your actions based on thought? Do you look at each situation, carefully weighing the benefits and potential outcomes of each approach? Stop and think before you react.
Ask why
There are many things you take for granted on a day to day basis. You flip a switch, and the light comes on. You turn on the faucet, and water comes out. You turn on the television, and there are 300 channels of programming awaiting your selection. These things don’t just happen, though. If there’s ever been a water main break in your area, or if the power or cable has ever gone out, you have probably realized how much you take these systems for granted.
Instead of just accepting things, make an effort to understand them. Ask why, and how, and why not. When you push the "print" button on your computer, the page comes out of your printer. How does this happen? Look inside the printer and see if you can figure it out. A new restaurant opens in your town, and it is an immediate success. Another restaurant opens down the street, and fails after six months. Why? What made one succeed and the other fail?
Don’t chalk everything up to "good luck" or "bad luck". Things happen for a reason. Don’t just read the headlines or watch the news on television. Study events in depth to develop an understanding of the underlying causes.
Distinguish the relevant from the irrelevant
In every situation there are relevant facts, and there are meaningless ones. All too often, people fight the wrong fight, over issues that are not even relevant. One of the most effective thinking skills you can develop is the ability to recognize what is relevant and what isn’t.
Generally, something is relevant if it has some material effect on the situation at hand, and if it can be controlled or altered in some way.
Consider this situation:
The shirt factory on the edge of town closes, and 250 people lose their jobs. The shirt company sells the property to an entrepreneur who converts the factory into a warehouse that employs 30 people. The warehouse operator comes to the city planning commission seeking approval to expand her operation by constructing a second facility on the property. The new warehouse will employ an additional 20 people. A group of former employees of the shirt factory oppose the new facility, claiming that the warehouse company has "eliminated" a net total of 220 jobs from the community.
But is there any relevance to the fact that 250 people once worked at the shirt factory? No. The shirt factory is gone for good, never to return. The warehouse company did not "eliminate" 220 jobs — it actually took a vacant property and created 30 jobs, with another 20 jobs planned. The fact that the warehouse is located on the site of the old shirt factory is meaningless.
The loss of 250 jobs is an emotional issue. It has had an effect on the lives of many people. But punishing the warehouse company, and limiting its growth, will not bring those jobs back. To find the best course of action, we must discard the irrelevant facts, no matter how emotional they are, and look at the things that will make a difference.
Click here to download your free E-book, The 10 Steps To Success
-Network Marketing Is A Contact Sport-
Jon Clayton
Phone: 860-265-3655
E-mail: thegetteam (at) gmail (dot) com
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