Let us use ANZAC Day to commit ourselves to be agents of reconciliation.
Reflection for ANZAC Day
Tag: Thought For the day๐ผ
Kindness ~ Wisdom
We can’t change the past it either breaks us or makes us different.
The journeys we all travel through time is evolution.
Do we have to change, no? But it does change us.
It’s our choices we make is our responsibility therefore always be kind to you too.
DON’T hurt others with your actions.
We only pass this way once in a lifetime.
Charity starts under your roof when you turn lights off. When you wake, you will feel loved and cherished by those under your care.
Loved and cherished only found in the life of independence, freedom and grace in your family.
Written for all little girls ๐
What every mother and daughter should read!!!
I felt like I had written some of this. Who else felt that way after reading this?
Dear Daughter,
As you navigate the choppy waters of womanhood (and damn, those are some high, white-capped swells), please, oh please, hear my voice, my love.
Hear it, sweet child. Please donโt shrug me off.
Hear it ringing through the din, right through these confounding, life-sorting years; right past your indifference, your boredom with me, your toiling, your angst, your confusion, and your fears.
I am your mama, and mama just knows.
Be a badass truth teller and say what you mean. The truth has been scary sh*t since the beginning of time, but, my darling, the truth wins. Trust me.
In the end, the truth always makes a dramatic, plot-twisting, unapologetic entrance.
Be just as discerning with your โyes,โ as you are with you โno.โ Figure out when itโs time to stay and fight a good, earnest fight, and when to just let go.
Eat half the slice of pie, half the cake, half the saucy appetizer, and half the cheesy macaroni bake. And donโt be huffy about this, daughter, because sons should indeed take heed too. This is not the โplight of a womanโโbut take care of your body so it will take care of you.
Unless you really want it! If you want it, then eat it, for goodness sake. Lick your fingers clean, savor every last bite, and for the love of all things holy, give the rules a break.
Remember to love yourself. Enjoy every bit. Love your whole, real selfโdespite every perceived imperfection, mistake, or failure, despite every self-manufactured hit.
Love who you are, what you stand for. Keep the fire inside yourself lit.
Your health, and the care, and the keeping of you is the most important component to every part of your happiness.
Trust me. Mamaโs been there. Mama knows.
Compromise, my dear, but donโt give yourself away. Say what you mean, and mean what you say.
Take a quiet moment, be present, and pray. Pray for peace and equality, but include yourself along the way. Answer to yourself without regrets, every blessed day.
Live your life. And by live, I mean fulfill every last human need. Sprinkle some kindness, and watch others follow your lead. Call out hypocrisy, injustice, malice, and greed.
Know how to listen, child. Winning is good, but other people know things too. Itโs not just about what you say, itโs about what you do.
Learn from others, and their different point of view.
Watch out for creeps and call them out. Loudly, publiclyโdonโt be afraid to shout! Creeps fester and grow like weeds when left unchallenged.
And by creeps, Iโm talking about the Harveyโs, the Billโs, the Dilon’s and the Charlieโs. The Mattโs, the Jeffreyโs, the Royโs, and the Brettโs.
Oh yeah, and the Donaldโs. Men with money think money is the answer.
Follow your heart, but make sure your head is screwed on straight. If it isnโt, loosen the screws and adjust accordingly until it is, my love.
Sexual satisfaction means telling your partner what you want and exactly how you want it, instead of just lying there and hoping what you want miraculously โhappens.โ Sexual satisfaction means you donโt fake it โtil you make it, my dear.
Disappointment in the sack is your fault. Thatโs right, I said it. Take control of your own pleasure. Own it. You deserve to feel good as much as your partner does.
Oh, and donโt be the only one who cleans the damn house. Make it clear from the beginning that a tidy living space is a straight-up shared job. Same goes for cooking. And laundry. And lawn mowing. And garbage. And bill paying.
Make a f*cking chore chart the first week of cohabitation and donโt say things like, โIโm sorry, but you have to help too.โ Resentment festers when left unchecked.
Donโt be snarky, my love. Sarcasm is too easy and solves nothing. Put your thoughts together and just be direct.
Yes, you do need a haircut. Yes, get the chunky necklace you love and might only wear once. Treat yourself to small self-care things that make you feel good. Love yourself this way. It will make you feel rich instead of cheap; worthy for the front, instead of the backseat.
Keep tabs on your judgement. No one likes a judge, sweet girl. Empathy and compassion will boomerang back your way when you need it the most.
Keep promises. Promises kept, just like conviction, will stick to your character and follow you wherever you go.
Breathe. Be kind. Inhale and exhale compassion on every level.
And oh, and for heavenโs sake, wear sunscreen! What do you wantโฆwrinkles when youโre 35?
Please save some money, honey. Itโs called a โfreedom account,โ and wise, old, rich women do this when theyโre young.
Invest in real estate. Buy a used car. One bottle of perfume is enough.
Stay away from the Targets and the TJs, the Starbucks and the Kohlโs, Wharehouse and K-Mart.
Youโll thank me later when youโre happily counting bankrolls.
Trust me. Money is independence. Itโs not the key to everything, for sure, but itโs undoubtedly a ticket for the choices youโll make and the options youโll take. Men have known this forever.
Dear sweet daughter. Live your life. Let me rephrase that: Live your life.
And, smash the patriarchy while youโre at it.
Now, please take mama out for a mojito.
Mama needs to see your beautiful face.
Doctors are just the same as lawyers; the only difference is that lawyers merely rob you, whereas doctors rob you and kill you too
They say marriages are made in Heaven. But so is thunder and lightning
To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first, and call whatever you hit the target
By the time a man realizes that his father was right, he has a son who thinks heโs wrong
Hello Friends,โ๏ธโ๏ธ
Wishing everyone a fantastic day!!
Believing in yourself and having self-compassion are very important for personal growth and development.
When we believe in ourselves we become unstoppable. Imagine knowing that whatever you set out to do you can and will accomplish your goals. That is very powerful. Even when faced with huge obstacles and problems you know that eventually you will overcome them.
Having self-compassion is what tells us that we are human and we are prone to making mistakes. We all say and do things that are not always appropriate and it is important to realize that is okay. We need to be able to say to ourselves when we make mistakes, that is okay and that it was not so bad. Have compassion for ourselves.
Sending everyone Positive Vibes and Love. Peace and Love, Kindness โ๏ธ
Thoughts of Today ๐๐
A man is as old as he’s feeling, a woman is as old as she looks.
Someย people come into your life, and you just know you will never be able to replace them if they left.
Toย be around those who enhance your life is called success. To enhance the lives of those around you is called significance.
Fromย all the toys in the world, people choose feelings to play with
Beย with people who always show you your strength and hopes and not waste time with people who always remind you of your failures and mistakes.
Harness Creative Thinking
โThe joy is in creating, not maintaining.โ โVINCE LOMBARDI, NFL HALL OF FAME COACHย
Creativity is pure gold, no matter what you do for a living. Annette Moser-Well man, author of The Five Faces of Genius, asserts, โThe most valuable resource you bring to your work and to your firm is your creativity. More than what you get done, more than the role you play, more than your title, more than your โoutputโโitโs your ideas that matter.โ ย Despite the importance of a personโs ability to think with creativity, few people seem to possess the skill in abundance.ย
If youโre not as creative as you would like to be, you can change your way of thinking. Creative thinking isnโt necessarily original thinking. In fact, I think people mythologize original thought. Most often, creative thinking is a composite of other thoughts discovered along the way. Even the great artists, whom we consider highly original, learned from their masters, modeled their work on that of others, and brought together a host of ideas and styles to create their own work. Study art, and you will see threads that run through the work of all artists and artistic movements, connecting them to other artists who went before them.ย
CHARACTERISTICS OF CREATIVE THINKERS
Perhaps youโre not even sure what I mean when I ask whether you are a creative thinker. Consider some characteristics that creative thinkers have in common:ย
Creative Thinkers Value Ideas
Annette Moser-Wellman observes, โHighly creative people are dedicated to ideas. They donโt rely on their talent alone; they rely on their discipline. Their imagination is like a second skin. They know how to manipulate it to its fullest.โ Creativity is about having ideasโlots of them. You will have ideas only if you value ideas.ย
Creative Thinkers Explore Options
Iโve yet to meet a creative thinker who didnโt love options. Exploring a multitude of possibilities helps to stimulate the imagination, and imagination is crucial to creativity. As Albert Einstein put it, โImagination is more important than knowledge.โ People who know me well will tell you that I place a very high value on options. Why? Because they provide the key to finding the best answerโnot the only answer. Good thinkers come up with the best answers. They create back-up plans that provide them with alternatives. They enjoy freedom that others do not possess. And they will influence and lead others.ย
Creative Thinkers Embrace Ambiguity
Writer H. L. Mencken said, โIt is the dull man who is always sure, and the sure man who is always dull.โ Creative people donโt feel the need to stamp out uncertainty. They see all kinds of inconsistencies and gaps in life, and they often take delight in exploring those gapsโor in using their imagination to fill them in.ย
Creative Thinkers Celebrate the Offbeat
Creativity, by its very nature, often explores off of the beaten path and goes against the grain. Diplomat and long-time president of Yale University King-man Brewster said, โThere is a correlation between the creative and the screwball. So we must suffer the screwball gladly.โ To foster creativity in yourself or others, be willing to tolerate a little oddness.ย
Creative Thinkers Connect the Unconnected
Because creativity utilizes the ideas of others, thereโs great value in being able to connect one idea to anotherโespecially to seemingly unrelated ideas. Graphic designer Tim Hansen says, โCreativity is especially expressed in the ability to make connections, to make associations, to turn things around and express them in a new way.โ Creating additional thoughts is like taking a trip in your car. You may know where you are going, but only as you move toward your destination can you see and experience things in a way not possible before you started. Creative thinking works something like this:ย
THINK _ COLLECT _ CREATE _ CORRECT _ CONNECT
Once you begin to think, you are free to collect. You ask yourself, What material relates to this thought? Once you have the material, you ask, What ideas can make the thought better? That can start to take an idea to the next level. After that, you can correct or refine it by asking, What changes can make these ideas better? Finally, you connect the ideas by positioning them in the right context to make the thought complete and powerful.ย
Creative Thinkers Donโt Fear Failure
Creativity demands the ability to be unafraid of failure because creativity equals failure. You may be surprised to hear such a statement, but itโs true. Charles Frankel asserts that โanxiety is the essential condition of intellectual and artistic creation.โ Creativity requires a willingness to look stupid. It means getting out on a limbโknowing that the limb often breaks! Creative people know these things and still keep searching for new ideas. They just donโt let the ideas that donโt work prevent them from coming up with more ideas that do work.ย
WHY YOU SHOULD DISCOVER THE JOY OF CREATIVE THINKING
Creativity can improve a personโs quality of life. Here are five specific things creative thinking has the potential to do for you:ย
1. Creative Thinking Adds Value to Everything
Wouldnโt you enjoy a limitless reservoir of ideas that you could draw upon at any time? Thatโs what creative thinking gives you. For that reason, no matter what you are currently able to do, creativity can increase your capabilities. Creativity is being able to see what everybody else has seen and think what nobody else has thought so that you can do what nobody else has done. Sometimes creative thinking lies along the lines of invention, where you break new ground. Other times it moves along the lines of innovation, which helps you to do old things in a new way. But either way, itโs seeing the world through sufficiently new eyes so that new solutions appear. That always adds value.ย
2. Creative Thinking Compounds
Over the years, Iโve found thatย
Creative Thinking Is Hard Workย
butย
Creative Thinking Compounds Given Enoughย
Time and Focusย
Perhaps more than any other kind of thinking, creative thinking builds on itself and increases the creativity of the thinker. Poet Maya Angelou observed, โYou canโt use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. Sadly, too often creativity is smothered rather than nurtured. There has to be a climate in which new ways of thinking, perceiving, questioning are encouraged.โ If you cultivate creative thinking in an environment that nurtures creativity, thereโs no telling what kind of ideas you can come up with. (Iโll talk more on that later.)ย
3. Creative Thinking Draws People to You and Your Ideas
Creativity is intelligence having fun. People admire intelligence, and they are always attracted to funโso the combination is fantastic. If anyone could be said to have fun with his intelligence, it was Leonardo da Vinci. The diversity of his ideas and expertise staggers the mind. He was a painter, architect, sculptor, anatomist, musician, inventor, and engineer. The term Renaissance man was coined because of him. Just as people were drawn to Da Vinci and his ideas during the Renaissance, they are drawn to creative people today. If you cultivate creativity, you will become more attractive to other people, and they will be drawn to you.ย
4. Creative Thinking Helps You Learn More
Author and creativity expert Ernie Zelinski says, โCreativity is the joy of not knowing it all. The joy of not knowing it all refers to the realization that we seldom if ever have all the answers; we always have the ability to generate more solutions to just about any problem. Being creative is being able to see or imagine a great deal of opportunity to lifeโs problems. Creativity is having options.โ 5 It almost seems too obvious to say, but if you are always actively seeking new ideas, you will learn. Creativity is teachability. Itโs seeing more solutions than problems. And the greater the quantity of thoughts, the greater the chance for learning something new.ย
5. Creative Thinking Challenges the Status Quo
If you desire to improve your worldโor even your own situationโthen creativity will help you. The status quo and creativity are incompatible. Creativity and innovation always walk hand in hand.ย
HOW TO DISCOVER THE JOY OF CREATIVE THINKING
At this point you may be saying, โOkay, Iโm convinced that creative thinking is important. But how do I find the creativity within me? How do I discover the joy of creative thought?โ Here are five ways to do it:ย
1. Remove Creativity Killersย
Economics professor and humor author Stephen Leacock said, โPersonally, I would sooner have written Alice in Wonderland than the whole Encyclopedia Britannica.โ He valued the warmth of creativity over cold facts. If you do too, then you need to eliminate attitudes that devalue creative thinking. Take a look at the following phrases. They are almost guaranteed to kill creative thinking any time you hear (or think) them:ย
- Iโm Not a Creative Personย
- Follow the Rulesย
- Donโt Ask Questionsย
- Donโt Be Differentย
- Stay Within the Linesย
- There Is Only One Way
- Donโt Be Foolishย
- Be Practicalย
- Be Seriousย
- Think of Your Imageย
- Thatโs Not Logicalย
- Itโs Not Practicalย
- Itโs Never Been Doneย
- It Canโt Be Doneย
- It Didnโt Work for Themย
- We Tried That Beforeย
- Itโs Too Much Workย
- We Canโt Afford to Make a Mistakeย
- It Will Be Too Hard to Administerย
- We Donโt Have the Timeย
- We Donโt Have the Moneyย
- Yes, Butโฆย
- Play Is Frivolousย
- Failure Is Finalย
If you think you have a great idea, donโt let anyone talk you out of it even if it sounds foolish. Donโt let yourself or anyone else subject you to creativity killers. After all, you canโt do something new and exciting if you force yourself to stay in the same old rut. Donโt just work harder at the same old thing. Make a change.ย
2. Think Creatively by Asking the Right Questions
Creativity is largely a matter of asking the right questions. Management trainer Sir Antony Jay said, โThe un-creative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes a creative mind to spot wrong questions.โ Wrong questions shut down the process of creative thinking. They direct thinkers down the same old path, or they chide them into believing that thinking isnโt necessary at all. To stimulate creative thinking, ask yourself questions such asโฆย
- Why must it be done this way?ย
- What is the root problem?ย
- What are the underlying issues?ย
- What does this remind me of?ย
- What is the opposite?ย
- What metaphor or symbol helps to explain it?ย
- Why is it important?ย
- Whatโs the hardest or most expensive way to do it?ย
- Who has a different perspective on this?ย
- What happens if we donโt do it at all?ย
You get the ideaโand you can probably come up with better questions yourself. Physicist Tom Hirschfield observed, โIf you donโt ask, โWhy this?โ often enough, somebody will ask, โWhy you?โโ If you want to think creatively, you must ask good questions. You must challenge the process.ย
3. Develop a Creative Environment
Charlie Brower said, โA new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right manโs brow.โ Negative environments kill thousands of great ideas every minute. A creative environment, on the other hand, becomes like a greenhouse where ideas get seeded, sprout up,and flourish. A creative environment:ย
- Encourages Creativity:ย David Hills says, โStudies of creativity suggest that the biggest single variable of whether or not employees will be creative is whether they perceive they have permission.โ When innovation and good thinking are openly encouraged and rewarded, then people see that they have permission to be creative.ย
- Places a High Value on Trust among Team Members and Individuality:ย Creativity always risks failure. Thatโs why trust is so important to creative people. In the creative process, trust comes from people working together, from knowing that people on the team have experience launching successful, creative ideas, and from the assurance that creative ideas wonโt go to waste, because they will be implemented.ย
- Embraces Those Who Are Creative:ย Creative people celebrate the offbeat. How should creative people be treated? I take the advice of Tom Peters: โWeed out the dullardsโnurture the nuts!โ I do that by spending time with them, which I enjoy anyway. I especially like to pull people into brainstorming sessions. People look forward to an invitation to such meetings because the time will be filled with energy, ideas, and laughter. And the odds are high that a new project, seminar, or business strategy will result. When that happens, they also know a partyโs coming!ย
- Focuses on Innovation, Not Just Invention:ย Sam Weston, creator of the popular action figure GI Joe, said, โTruly groundbreaking ideas are rare, but you donโt necessarily need one to make a career out of creativity. My definition of creativity is the logical combination of two or more existing elements that result in a new concept. The best way to make a living with your imagination is to develop innovative applications, not imagine completely new concepts.โ Creative people say, โGive me a good idea and Iโll give you a better idea!โย
- Is Willing to Let People Go Outside the Lines:ย Most people automatically stay within lines, even if those lines have been arbitrarily drawn or are terribly out of date. Remember, most limitations we face are not imposed on us by others; we place them on ourselves. Lack of creativity often falls into that category. If you want to be more creative, challenge boundaries. Inventor Charles Ket-tering said, โAll human development, no matter what form it takes, must be outside the rules; otherwise, we would never have anything new.โ A creative environment takes that into account.ย
- Appreciates the Power of a Dream:ย A creative environment promotes the freedom of a dream. A creative environment encourages the use of a blank sheet of paper and the question, โIf we could draw a picture of what we want to accomplish, what would that look like?โ A creative environment allowed Martin Luther King, Jr., to speak with passion and declare to millions, โI have a dream,โ not โI have a goal.โ Goals may give focus, but dreams give power. Dreams expand the world. That is why James Allen suggested that โdreamers are the saviors of the world.โ The more creativity-friendly you can make your environment, the more potential it has to become creative.ย
4. Spend Time with Other Creative Peopleย
What if the place you work has an environment hostile to creativity, and you possess little ability to change it? One possibility is to change jobs. But what if you desire to keep working there despite the negative environment? Your best option is to find a way to spend time with other creative people. Creativity is contagious. Have you ever noticed what happens during a good brainstorming session? One person throws out an idea. Another person uses it as a springboard to discover another idea. Someone else takes it in yet another, even better direction. Then somebody grabs hold of it and takes it to a whole new level. The interplay of ideas can be electric. I have a strong group of creative individuals in my life. I make sure to spend regular time with them. When I leave them, I always feel energized, Iโm full of ideas, and I see things differently. They truly are indispensable to my life. Itโs a fact that you begin to think like the people you spend a lot of time with. The more time you can spend with creative people engaging in creative activities, the more creative you will become.
5. Get Out of Your Box
Actress Katharine Hepburn remarked, โIf you obey all the rulesโฆ you will miss all the fun.โ While I donโt think itโs necessary to break all the rules (many are in place to protect us), I do think itโs unwise to allow self-imposed limitations to hinder us. Creative thinkers know that they must repeatedly break out of the โboxโ of their own history and personal limitations in order to experience creative breakthroughs. The most effective way to help yourself get out of the box is to expose yourself to new paradigms. One way you can do that is by traveling to new places. Explore other cultures, countries, and traditions. Find out how people very different from you live and think. Another is to read on new subjects. Iโm naturally curious and love to learn, but I still have a tendency to read books only on my favorite subjects, such as leadership. I sometimes have to force myself to read books that broaden my thinking, because I know itโs worth it. If you want to break out of your own box, get into somebodyโs elseโs. Read broadly.ย
Many people mistakenly believe that if individuals arenโt born with creativity, they will never be creative. But you can see from the many strategies and examples Iโve given that creativity can be cultivated in the right supportive environment.ย
Thinking Question
Am I working to break out of my โboxโ of limitations so that I explore ideas and options to experience creative breakthroughs?
Question Popular Thinking
ย Economist John Maynard Keynes, whose ideas profoundly influenced economic theory and practices in the twentieth century, asserted, โThe difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from the old ones.โ Going against popular thinking can be difficult, whether youโre a businessperson bucking company tradition, a pastor introducing new types of music to his church, a new mother rejecting old wivesโ tales handed down from her parents, or a teenager ignoring currently popular styles.ย
Many of the ideas in this book go against popular thinking. If you value popularity over good thinking, then you will severely limit your potential to learn the types of thinking encouraged by this book.ย
Popular thinking isโฆย
- Too Average to Understand the Value of Good Thinking,ย
- Too Inflexible to Realize the Impact of Changed Thinking,ย
- Too Lazy to Master the Process of Intentional Thinking,ย
- Too Small to See the Wisdom of Big-picture Thinking,ย
- Too Satisfied to Unleash the Potential of Focused Thinking,ย
- Too Traditional to Discover the Joy of Creative Thinking,ย
- Too Naive to Recognize the Importance of Realistic Thinking,
- Too Undisciplined to Release the Power of Strategic Thinking,
- ย Too Limiting to Feel the Energy of Possibility Thinking,ย
- Too Trendy to Embrace the Lessons of Reflective Thinking,ย
- Too Shallow to Question the Acceptance of Popular Thinking,ย
- Too Proud to Encourage the Participation of Shared Thinking,ย
- Too Self-absorbed to Experience the Satisfaction of Unselfish Thinking, andย
- Too Uncommitted to Enjoy the Return of Bottom-Line Thinking.ย
If you want to become a good thinker, then start preparing yourself for the possibility of becoming unpopular.ย
WHY YOU SHOULD QUESTION THE ACCEPTANCE OF POPULAR THINKING
Iโve given you some broad reasons for questioning the acceptance of popular thinking. Now allow me to be more specific:ย
1. Popular Thinking Sometimes Means Not Thinkingย
My friend Kevin Myers sums up the idea of popular thinking by saying, โThe problem with popular thinking is that it doesnโt require you to think at all.โ Good thinking is hard work. If it were easy, everybody would be a good thinker. Unfortunately, many people try to live life the easy way. They donโt want to do the hard work of thinking or pay the price of success. Itโs easier to do what other people do and hope that they thought it out. Look at the stock market recommendations of some experts. By the time they publish their picks, most are following a trend, not creating one or even riding its crest. The people who are going to make money on the stocks they recommend have already done so by the time the general public hears about it. When people blindly follow a trend, theyโre not doing their own thinking.
2. Popular Thinking Offers False Hopeย
Benno Muller-Hill, a professor in the University of Cologne genetics department, tells how one morning in high school he stood last in a line of forty students in the schoolyard. His physics teacher had set up a telescope so that his students could view a planet and its moons. The first student stepped up to the telescope. He looked through it, but when the teacher asked if he could see anything, the boy said no;ย
his nearsightedness hampered his view. The teacher showed him how to adjust the focus, and the boy finally said he could see the planet and moons. One by one, the students stepped up to the telescope and saw what they were supposed to see. Finally, the second to last student looked into the telescope and announced that he could not see anything.ย
โYou idiot,โ shouted the teacher, โyou have to adjust the lenses.โ The student tried, but he finally said, โI still canโt see anything. It is all black.โ
The teacher, disgusted, looked through the telescope himself, and then looked up with a strange expression. The lens cap still covered the telescope. None of the students had been able to see anything! Many people look for safety and security in popular thinking. They figure that if a lot of people are doing something, then it must be right. It must be a good idea.
If most people accept it, then it probably represents fairness, equality, compassion, and sensitivity, right? Not necessarily. Popular thinking said the earth was the center of the universe, yet Copernicus studied the stars and planets and proved mathematically that the earth and the other planets in our solar system revolved around the sun.
Popular thinking said surgery didnโt require clean instruments, yet Joseph Lister studied the high death rates in hospitals and introduced antiseptic practices that immediately saved lives. Popular thinking said that women shouldnโt have the right to vote, yet people like Emmeline Pankhurst and Susan B. Anthony fought for and won that right. Popular thinking put the Nazis into power in Germany, yet Hitlerโs regime murdered millions and nearly destroyed Europe. We must always remember there is a huge difference between acceptance and intelligence. People may say that thereโs safety in numbers, but thatโs not always true. Sometimes itโs painfully obvious that popular thinking isnโt good and right.
Other times itโs less evident. For example, consider the staggering number of people in the United States who have run up large amounts of debt on their credit cards. Anyone who is financially astute will tell you thatโs a bad idea. Yet millions follow right along with the popular thinking of buy now, pay later. And so they pay, and pay, and pay. Many promises of popular thinking ring hollow. Donโt let them fool you.
3. Popular Thinking Is Slow to Embrace Change
Popular thinking loves the status quo. It puts its confidence in the idea of the moment, and holds on to it with all its might. As a result, it resists change and dampens innovation. Donald M. Nelson, former president of the Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers, criticized popular thinking when he asserted, โWe must discard the idea that past routine, past ways of doing things, are probably the best ways. On the contrary, we must assume that there is probably a better way to do almost everything. We must stop assuming that a thing which has never been done before probably cannot be done at all.โ
4. Popular Thinking Brings Only Average Results
The bottom line? Popular thinking brings mediocre results. Here is popular thinking in a nutshell: Popular = Normal = Average Itโs the least of the best and the best of the least. We limit our success when we adopt popular thinking. It represents putting in the least energy to just get by. You must reject common thinking if you want to accomplish uncommon results.
HOW TO QUESTION THE ACCEPTANCE OF POPULAR THINKING
Popular thinking has often proved to be wrong and limiting. Questioning it isnโt necessarily hard, once you cultivate the habit of doing so. The difficulty is in getting started. Begin by doing the following things:
1. Think Before You Follow
Many individuals follow others almost automatically. Sometimes they do so because they desire to take the path of least resistance. Other times they fear rejection. Or they believe thereโs wisdom in doing what everyone else does. But if you want to succeed, you need to think about whatโs best, not whatโs popular. Challenging popular thinking requires a willingness to be unpopular and go outside of the norm.
Following the tragedy of September 11, 2001, for example, few people willingly chose to travel by plane. But that was the best time to travel: crowds were down, security was up, and airlines were cutting prices. About a month after the tragedy, my wife, Margaret, and I heard that Broadway shows had lots of seats and many New York hotel rooms remained empty. Popular thinking said, stay away from New York.
We used that as an opportunity. We got cheap plane tickets to the city, booked a room in a great hotel for about half price, and got tickets to the most sought-after show: The Producers. As we took our seats in the theater, we sat next to a woman beside herself with excitement.
โI canโt believe Iโm finally here,โ she said to us. โIโve waited so long. This is the best show on Broadway โand the hardest to get tickets to.โ Then she turned to look me in the eye and said, โIโve had my tickets for a year and a half, waiting to see this show. How long ago did you get yours?โ โYou wonโt like my answer,โ I replied. โOh, come on,โ she said. โHow long?โ โI got mine five days ago,โ
I answered. She looked at us in horror. By the way, she was right. Itโs one of the best shows weโve seen in a while. And we got to see it only because we were willing to go against popular thinking when everyone else was staying at home. As you begin to think against the grain of popular thinking, remind yourself that
- Unpopular thinking, even when resulting in success, is largely underrated, unrecognized, and misunderstood.
- Unpopular thinking contains the seeds of vision and opportunity.
- Unpopular thinking is required for all progress.
The next time you feel ready to conform to popular thinking on an issue, stop and think. You may not want to create change for its own sake, but you certainly donโt want to blindly follow just because you havenโt thought about whatโs best.
2. Appreciate Thinking Different from Your Own
One of the ways to embrace innovation and change is to learn to appreciate how others think. To do that, you must continually expose yourself to people different from yourself. My brother, Larry Maxwellโa good businessman and an innovative thinkerโcontinually challenges popular thinking by thinking differently. He says: Most of our people in sales and middle management come from businesses with products and services different from ours.
That constantly exposes us to new ways of thinking. We also discourage our people from active participation in formal business and trade associations and fraternities because their thinking is quite common. They donโt need to spend lots of time thinking the way everyone else in the industry does.
As you strive to challenge popular thinking, spend time with people with different backgrounds, education levels, professional experiences, personal interests, etc. You will think like the people with whom you spend the most time. If you spend time with people who think out of the box, youโre more likely to challenge popular thinking and break new ground.
3. Continually Question Your Own Thinking
Letโs face it, any time we find a way of thinking that works, one of our greatest temptations is to go back toit repeatedly, even if it no longer works well. The greatest enemy to to-morrowโs success is sometimes todayโs success. My friend Andy Stanley recently taught a leadership lesson at INJOYโs Catalyst Conference called โChallenging the Process.โ He described how progress must be preceded by change, and he pointed out many of the dynamics involved in questioning popular thinking. In an organization, he said, we should remember that every tradition was originally a good ideaโand perhaps even revolutionary. But every tradition may not be a good idea for the future. In your organization, if you were involved in putting into place what currently exists, then itโs likely that you will resist changeโeven change for the better. Thatโs why itโs important to challenge your own thinking. If youโre too attached to your own thinking and how everything is done now, then nothing will change for the better.
4. Try New Things in New Ways
When was the last time you did something for the first time? Do you avoid taking risks or trying new things? One of the best ways to get out of the rut of your own thinking is to innovate. You can do that in little, everyday ways: drive to work a different way from normal. Order an unfamiliar dish at your favorite restaurant. Ask a different colleague to help you with a familiar project. Take yourself off of autopilot. Unpopular thinking asks questions and seeks options. In 1997, my three companies moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Itโs a great city, but traffic at peak times can get crazy. Immediately after moving here, I began looking for and testing alternative routes to desired destinations so that I would not be caught in traffic. From my house to the airport, for example, I have discovered and used nine routes within eight miles and twelve minutes from one another. Often I am amazed to see people sitting on the freeway when they could be moving forward on an alternative route. What is the problem? Too many people have not tried new things in new ways. It is true: most people are more satisfied with old problems than committed to finding new solutions. How you go about doing new things in new ways is not as important as making sure you do it. (Besides, if you try to do new things in the same way that everyone else does, are you really going against popular thinking? ) Get out there and do something different today.
5. Get Used to Being Uncomfortable
When it comes right down to it, popular thinking is comfortable. Itโs like an old recliner adjusted to all the ownerโs idiosyncrasies. The problem with most old recliners is that no one has looked at them lately. If so, theyโd agree that itโs time to get a new one! If you want to reject popular thinking in order to embrace achievement, youโll have to get used to being uncomfortable. If you embrace unpopular thinking and make decisions based upon what works best and what is right rather than what is commonly accepted, know this: in your early years you wonโt be as wrong as people think you are.
In your later years, you wonโt be as right as people think you are. And all through the years, you will be better than you thought you could be.
Thinking Question
Am I consciously rejecting the limitations of common thinking in order to accomplish uncommon results?
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