Do You Take Time to THINK?

This past week did you take the time to reflect on what you stand for as you live your daily life? What is your “body of work” as you create your own pedigree?

There’s so much going on in all of our lives between work, raising our children, demands on our time with commitments, the basics of keeping up a house, and the yard. Oh yes, and then there are our relationships with our spouse/significant other, our family, friends etc., keeping up with our personal health, our spiritual lives, etc. etc. etc. There’s a continuous feeling of being on a treadmill, a feeling of being pulled in so many different directions, and never feeling like we’re in control of anything. Sound familiar?

I remember those days of having so many demands on my time and feeling overwhelmed. I also wasn’t the most patient, and I felt inadequate at home and at school. I wish I had known more about the idea of prioritizing versus trying to be all things to everyone. Everyone that is except me. I knew I was better when I had some alone time to gather my thoughts, but I wasn’t very good about actually doing that. Of course, what do they tell all of us on the airplane? “Put the oxygen mask on yourself FIRST and then on your child.” What a concept.

We have more of a tendency to think we’re being selfish if we do take time for ourselves, yet that’s exactly what we need to do. Take more advice from Urban Meyer and his Above the Line book. “When you’re feeling out of control, things aren’t going right, and you’re feeling overwhelmed… (1) SLOW DOWN (2) Go deep, and (3) Figure out why. Remember it’s all about prioritizing our time since we all have 24 hours in a day.

“It’s very easy in this world we live in to get so caught up in the tyranny of the urgent that we don’t make time to THINK.” We all have distractions that pull us away from reflecting on the issues and challenges in our lives. Interestingly enough Dan Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans and owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers says, “THINKING about problems, challenges, new ways of doing things, and creativity is one of the hardest things we will ever do yet it brings the best results. Most people prefer to play it safe, not rock the boat, and never stray far from the status quo.”

How many people do you know who went to good schools and got good grades yet had a difficult time THINKING outside the box, couldn’t THINK on their feet, and had difficulty adjusting to change? We have such a focus, in our schools, on testing and grades. I’m not opposed to testing, but what we’re forcing teachers to do is to teach facts that can be regurgitated on a test. In today’s internet world, our students can Google the facts. What we need to be doing is teaching problem solving skills, applying the facts to a real life situation or problem, teaching alternative ways to view a problem, teaching communication skills to deal with conflicts and teaching how to reach a common goal. We need to be teaching our children to THINK!

“As it says in Proverbs, iron sharpens iron. Out of the sharpening process come better ideas and more committed performance. I don’t want yes-men around me I want people who’ve thought stuff through and are bringing it to me to make things better,” according to Meyer. It’s amazing to me the number of people in this country who are clueless as to how to talk with different generations, how to communicate thoughts and feelings that are different than what they’ve read on Twitter or Facebook. It’s amazing to hear people only have someone else’s thoughts versus any original ideas. They don’t know how to THINK on their own. When challenged they don't know how to respond because the answer wasn't truly their own. Have we gotten to a point of graduating a generation of people who are of the “group think” mentality? They’re wanting more to look like everyone else, sound like everyone else, and not rock the boat.

I remember people like John Maxwell and Jim Rohn stating that it’s one thing to teach people what to THINK, but teaching people HOW to THINK is altogether different. If we want to be able to be the best we can be as an individual living life “above the line,” it’s critical we have a quiet time to THINK.  According to William Deresiewicz, an author and essayist who gave a lecture at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point titled “Solitude and Leadership” pointed out that true leadership comes from within. “It comes from a deep introspection into your beliefs. But if you can’t put aside distractions long enough to be alone in reflection, formulate your own ideas and opinions, then you are handicapping your ability to THINK, make decisions, and lead.”

I would contend that each of us is a leader in all areas of our lives. We can either be a positive leader or a negative leader in our own home, with our spouse and our children, in our jobs, in our extracurricular activities etc. We can be a leader by learning, growing, and being a positive role model or we can be a leader of what NOT to do.  

Whatever it is you’re working on professionally or personally, there’s no doubt that being effective requires each of us to THINK independently. In order to THINK, there needs to be clarity of purpose, and we need to be clear on our priorities. How can we do that if we’re not giving ourselves time to THINK and have a “deep introspection into our beliefs?”

INVEST  time to THINK. Make this a priority. THINK deeply, originally, creatively. Challenge yourself to THINK outside the box. Don’t settle for just getting by because you don’t put energy into the time it takes to THINK! “When things aren’t going right, the most important thing you can do is to (1) SLOW DOWN, (2) Go deep within yourself, and (3) figure out why.”

To take time to THINK, you must be willing to prioritize the time you need for QUIET, no distractions with your phone beeping with every new message, no checking Facebook or Twitter, no interruptions from ANYONE. That means committing time to YOU, time to reflect, time to THINK.”

“Most people don’t lead their own lives…they accept their lives,” says John Kotter, professor of leadership at Harvard Business School. Don’t be the one living a passive life. It’s your choice as to how you approach your life at ANY age. If you focus on preparing and being better each and every day you’re being proactive. If you THINK about your life you are being proactive.

I wish you a time to THINK this week. Set aside time to THINK about what is going well in your life, what do you want to change?  THINK outside the box, THINK creatively, and THINK originally.