We live in a culture where if you want something done you need to take some form of action. Well, what if I were to tell you that “thinking about it” could be more powerful then stepping right out and doing it.
I recently listened to a podcast where the conversation was around the importance of spending scheduled time “thinking” each day in order to be influential in your life + business. The conversation referenced international best seller “Think and Grow Rich!” by Napoleon Hill.
First published in 1937, this book is the end product of two decades of research conducted by Napoleon Hill. His research started when Andrew Carnegie (the steel tycoon who was then the richest man on earth) gave him the assignment of organizing a Philosophy of Personal Achievement. In this book, Hill states,
“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
This is a powerful statement that easily lends itself to a brief pause in your consciousness, but like many, we then move right past it even faster than before to more tasks and to more doing. Does this sound like you? Perhaps it all sounds too good to be true, but I’d like to make the parallel in that mindfulness is “thinking” and a form of mindfulness is being present so that perspectives and creativity are heightened and emotionally charged feelings around a certain outcome are diminished.
If this could be the result of intentional “thinking”, then I would have to agree with this next quote by Hill,
“Our only limitations are those we set up in our own minds.”
Essentially, while thinking or creating mindfulness around a situation or topic or choice you are seeking direction or clarity around, if your thoughts are limiting, skeptical or consumed with lower emotions of the ego, then your outcomes will also be small or limiting and achievement or fulfillment may not exist for you.
Thinking is part of your strategy towards taking action … eventually. But in order to know which direction to go, one must allow the time and space for a clear vision towards the desired outcome. Having this clarity is powerful – I know firsthand. If I have ever skipped this step in a major life or business decision, I have had the privilege of learning from sometimes some very costly mistakes.
I would like to challenge you to 7 days of thinking time carved out on your schedule. Schedule it now. And then when someone asks you for an answer to a question, they are waiting for you to weigh in on, you can respond with. “The next time I have thinking scheduled is from 1-3 today, so I will get back with you by 3:15pm.”
So, I leave you with one last thought … what is going on in your life right now that would require a little thinking? Now go ahead and give it some time and space and schedule it for the next week, because after all,
“There is a difference between WISHING for a thing and being READY to receive it. No one is ready for a thing, until he believes he can acquire it. The state of mind must be BELIEF, not mere hope or wish. Open-mindedness is essential for belief.” – Napoleon Hill