How to Think

When was the last time you thought about HOW you think?

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When was the last time you thought about how you think?

Not WHAT you think, or WHY you think, but HOW you think?

For some of us, maybe it’s more a question of IF and WHEN we think, especially if we find ourselves making choices that don’t serve us well.

But that in itself leads us back to the question I opened with.

When was the last time you thought about HOW you think?

Perhaps this is a question you’ve never considered, but it is an important question we all should spend some time contemplating.

Why?

Because as you think, you become.

If you’re not aware of HOW you think, and you’re being intentional in this process, you’re likely thinking thoughts that lead to actions and behaviors that are sabotaging your success, holding you back from achieving your full potential, or limiting your leadership.

HOW you think is going to have a major impact on WHAT you think, WHY you think, and the outcomes in life that come as a result of those thoughts.  Understanding the HOW behind the WHAT and the WHY of thinking can have a powerful impact on the quality of life we experience as a result.

So, what does HOW Thinking consist of?

·         Look within (Educate)

·         Contemplate (Explore)

·         Consider (Question)

·         Compare (Evaluate)

·         Challenge (Validate)

·         Conquer (Overcome)

All of these elements are essential to discover, develop, and deploy your own Black Belt Leader Within, to rise to your full potential, and to become a World Class Master of Who You Are and What You Do. 

Sadly, far too many people approach HOW Thinking with what is known as confirmation bias.  We have a tendency, if we aren’t intentional in our thinking, to search for, interpret, or process information in a way that affirms our existing belief system, with its own prejudices, biases, or preconceptions.

Add to that our propensity to place more emphasis on the first piece of information that enters our thoughts, and allow that to influence subsequent thoughts or ideas. This process known as Anchoring, results in HOW Thinking that relies on ideas or thoughts that are incomplete, incorrect, or inaccurate.

Think about that. (Pun intended.)  If we are not cognizant of HOW we think, we tend to reject thoughts that don’t align with our view of the world or the answer we prefer to validate.  We also grasp the first idea that comes to our attention to the detriment of all others, without fully weighing all our options.

In doing so, we close off our minds to possibilities outside of the limits we (or others) have placed on ourselves.  As a result, biased HOW thinking leads us to see the world as we’ve always seen it – leaving us stuck where we are, as we are, unchanged.

There are two primary types of HOW Thinking we engage in, critical thinking and creative thinking. Critical thinking involves analyzing and evaluating information to form a judgment or make a decision. Creative thinking refers to the process of thinking “outside the box” to create new ideas, new concepts, or novel solutions.

But if we are not INTENTIONAL about our HOW Thinking, we allow confirmation bias and anchoring to limit our ability to think critically and stifle our ability to think creatively.

Remember, as you think you become.

If you limit your thinking, you limit your becoming.

This is why Metacognition is so important.

Metacognition is “thinking about thinking.”  It is an INTENTIONAL process of planning, monitoring, and evaluating our thought life, allowing us to regulate HOW we think, WHAT we think, and WHY we think a specific way.  It is essentially becoming AWARE of our thinking, so we can improve the QUALITY of our thinking, and the actions and outcomes that follow.

One of my mentors, Christian Simpson, sums it up this way:

“Your business, and the quality of life it affords you, will never outperform the quality of thinking you bring to it.” 

As I’ve shared in prior lessons, it is important to remember that we are the sum total of the individuals who poured into us in the early, formative years of our lives.  Our parents, siblings, pastors, teachers, friends, and early influencers all shaped our thinking and helped us to establish our belief system. This is known as social conditioning. In school, home, and society, we were typically taught WHAT to think rather than HOW to think. It was more about conformity than individuality, stifling our HOW Thinking at an early age – leaving us settling for less in life.

Our past experiences also influence HOW Thinking. Dr. Gerald Jampowlsky, director of the Center for Attitudinal Health for many years,  says that our past experiences are stored as “movie reels” in our minds. When we experience a similar thought, our minds replay these “movie reels” in real-time, often hijacking our thoughts in the process.

The quality of our thinking directly impacts the quality of our becoming.  Poor thinking leads to poor actions and outcomes. Negative thinking leads to limiting behaviors, often resulting in inaction or avoidance.   When we don’t regulate our HOW Thinking, we often end up engaging in Status Quo Thinking by default, so we only experience more of the same.

However, when we start to improve the quality of our HOW Thinking,  we improve the quality of WHAT we think (and the underlying WHY), leading to making choices that lead to better outcomes and more success in life.

When we elevate the quality of our HOW Thinking, we also elevate our problem-solving critical thinking. At the same time, we open our minds to the endless possibilities that are always around us, as we free our minds to engage in limitless creative thinking.

So, how do we improve our HOW Thinking?

·         An Open Mind

·         An Open Heart

·         An Open Commitment

First, we approach HOW Thinking with an open mind, free of bias, prejudice, or precondition.  We practice mindfulness to increase our awareness of our thoughts, allowing us to minimize reactive, emotional thinking.  This allows us to focus on a chosen subject, idea, thought, or action rather than allowing our minds to wander.

Secondly, we approach HOW Thinking with an open heart.  We are willing to put aside the past, and the emotions it stirs, and be willing to be present, in the moment, understanding that each moment has something to teach or reveal to us if we are open and willing to learn.

We learn to recognize negative or limiting thoughts that have continually held us back from saying, doing, or becoming more.  We challenge that type of thinking, knowing that as we retrain our minds to think in a new and better way, we challenge the status quo that keeps us stagnant and limits our potential.

Thirdly, We approach HOW Thinking with an open commitment to act on new information, learning, and discoveries. We are unwilling to remain where we are, as we are, unchanged.  We are committed to personally learning, growing, maturing, expanding, and daily becoming a better version of ourselves than we were the day before.  We are committed to improving the quality of our thinking, so we can improve the quality of our becoming.  

Remember, as you think, you become.

We improve our HOW Thinking when we approach it with an Open Mind, an Open Heart, and an Open Commitment.

We look within (Educate), we contemplate (Explore), we consider (Question), compare (Evaluate), we challenge (Validate), and we conquer (Overcome).

This is HOW to Think.