I wanted to add some more to last week’s idea of thinking further because it’s important and will lead to you having opinions that are well thought out.
That is especially important today where there is no discussion of half-formed ideas. There is just, you’re wrong! Generally in full caps accompanied by the prerequisite Tiktok.
Thinking further requires a new perception of everything and the development of a new belief system of expectations. Which, apparently is quite radical from the intellectual approach.
As Edward de Bono says: “It has been proven that many highly intelligent people are poor thinkers because they are caught in the intelligence trap of rigid thinking and have low future expectations of what might be, and so they are likely to be left behind by the competitor who promotes this new way of thinking among the team.”
Note: Intelligence is your capacity to learn. Not, your IQ. IQ means nothing if you cannot learn.
Thinking further also requires you to set your own terms of reference. Are modern athletes any better than athletes of yesteryear?
Yes, because of equipment but no. What has happened is modern athletes have learned to overcome the ‘self-barrier’ by changing their terms of reference that support their belief system.
Roger Bannister, the first person to break the four-minute mile, was told by trainers and medical people that it was physiologically impossible for a person to run a mile under four minutes because the human heart could not pump enough oxygen to accomplish it. As history shows, he proved them wrong by simply changing his terms of reference.
Most of those who have achieved greatness adopted the thinking further concept by creating their own terms of reference.
Catching the Tide
Shakespeare said, “There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; omitted, all the voyage of life is bound in shallow and miseries.”
Today we are experiencing great opportunities as well as significant challenges. Your tide is at the flood and you should focus on thinking further about your performance and people skills so that you can catch that tide.
Remember, there’s always room for improvement.