Values of good thinking

In our every day life we deal with things that are exciting as well as things that are mundane. We deal with situations that benefit us and causes that affect us. We are forced to deal with the complex variables of life. When the going is good, we take credit for ourselves. When the going gets tough we ask “why God, why me?” We celebrate when the going gets good. How? By partying, and enjoying to our content. This is the worldly way of celebrating. It is our outer personality – as talked by Larry Diangi in his famous book ‘The Resilient Power of Purpose’. If at bad times we can say “Oh God, why me?” then at good times, should we not be celebrating with the Gods? I am not trying to give you a sermon or discourse here. But I wish to leave a few correct thoughts with you to ponder over.

Benjamin Disraeli the great philosopher once said “Nurture great thoughts, for you will never go higher than your thoughts”. Look at all the successful people in the world, what do they have in common? What is that one thing that separates those who go to the top and those who never get there? ‘It’s Good Thinking’. If you are willing to change your thinking, you can change your feelings. If you can change your feelings, you can change your actions. And by changing your actions – based on good thinking – you can change your life.

All of us want our children to be educated in the best schools and colleges. I am not undermining the importance of good education. But the problem with most educational institutions is that they try to teach people ‘what’ to think, and not ‘how’ to think. Knowledge is power said Francis Bacon. But knowledge has value only in the hands of some one who has the ability to think well. We must learn how to think well and reach our potential.

Why should you embrace the value of good thinking? David Schwartz Professor of Georgia State University and the author of ‘The Magic of Thinking Big’ says “where success is concerned, people are not measured in inches or pounds or college degrees or family background; they are measured by the size of their thinking.” Becoming a better thinker is worth your effort because the way you think really impacts every aspect of your life. It doesn’t matter who or what you are, good thinking will improve your life. It will make you a better businessman, parent, teacher, executive or what ever you are.

Let me tell you of a few reasons why good thinking is important:

1. Good thinking creates the foundation for good results. Remember James Allen’s words “good thinking can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results”. You understand this in the natural world, but try to understand this in the mental and moral world, and cooperate with it. You all know that poor thinking can produce only negative results, average thinking produces no result, and good thinking produces some progress but great thinking produces great progress. You cannot change your results without changing your thinking. Remember the proverb ‘as you sow, so you reap?’ If you need great results, you need to sow great thinking. Why do you think you fall short of achieving your complete dreams? It’s because you are trying to change your results without changing your thinking. The best way to develop good thinking is by surrounding yourself with it. How? You may ask. By reading positive attitude books, listening to positive thinking tapes and being amongst people who have developed the ability to think positive.

2. Good thinking increases your potential. In every way each of us is a leader – to our family, to our business, in our community, in our social environment, in our profession etc. You will become as small as your controlling desire or as great as your dominant aspiration. You are that person as you think in your heart. Our leadership ability determines our level of effectiveness. The lid on your leadership ability is low if you are a poor thinker and that lid is high if you are a great thinker.

3. Good thinking produces more good thinking IF you make it a habit. The problems we face today cannot be solved by thinking in the same way we thought while creating them. Look around you the world keeps getting more complicated. It doesn’t have to discourage you. Let me share a great quotation with you:

I am your greatest companion. I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden. I will push you onward or drag you down to failure. I am completely at your command. Half of the things you do you might as well just turn over to me and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly. I am easily managed – you must merely be firm with me. Show me exactly how you want some thing done and after a few lessons I will do it automatically.

I am the servant of all great men; and alas, of all failures as well. Those who are great, I have made great. Those who are failures, I have made failures. I am not a machine, though I work with all the precision of a machine plus the intelligence of a man. You may run me for profit or run me for ruin. – it makes no difference to me. Take me, train me, be firm with me, and I will place the world at your feet. Be easy with me and I will destroy you.

Who am I? I am HABIT!

The good news here is no matter how complicated life gets or how difficult problems may seem; good thinking can make a difference – if you make it a consistent part of your life. Success comes to those habitually do things that unsuccessful people don’t do. The more you engage in good thinking, the more good thoughts you will continue to think. It’s like creating an army of good ideas capable of achieving almost anything. Every one of you has the potential to become a good thinker. Remember – unsuccessful people focus their thinking on survival, average people focus their thinking on maintenance, and successful people focus their thinking on progress.

What then is the portrait of a good thinker? How do you pay the price to become a good thinker? In my opinion there are many thinking pieces to become a great achiever. Some of which are:

• See the wisdom of big picture thinking.
• Unleash your potential of focused thinking.
• Discover the joy of creative thinking.
• Recognise the importance of realistic thinking.
• Release your power of strategic thinking.
• Feel the energy of possibility thinking.
• Embrace the lessons of Reflective thinking.
• Encourage the participation of shared thinking.
• Experience the satisfaction of unselfish thinking.
• Enjoy the returns of bottom line thinking.

Can we shun the ill will and fight amongst us as a nation, as a community, as an organisation, as a society, and as civilized human beings? Can we dedicate ourselves to cooperate and collaborate with each other? Can we support one another in all good causes? Can we create an environment of peace, harmony and progress? Can we get beyond any selfish agenda’s to selfless ones, by inculcating great thinking and good habits in ourselves? Your answers are ‘yes’. Let us then teach these values to our children and make our country, community, society a better place to live in.

---

Management Lesson

A sales rep, an administration clerk and the manager are walking to Lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out in a puff of smoke. The Genie says, “I usually only grant three wishes, so I’ll give each of you just one.” “Me first! Me first!” says the admin clerk. “I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.” Poof! And he’s gone. In astonishment, “Me next! Me next!” says the sales rep. “I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of pina colada’s and the love of my life.” Poof! He’s gone too. “OK, you’re up,” the Genie says to the Manager. The manager says, “I want those two back in the office after lunch.”

Moral: Always let your boss have the first say.