As the SunPraireFilms.com photographer—also the only QBQ! daughter-in-law, Casey Mae—prepared to snap the next shot of this author/speaker, she wryly said, “Okay, John, pretend you’re thinking.”
So I did.
While feigning the act of thought, I had one:
Henry Ford.
The famous inventor and businessman made a profound statement:
“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.”
Love that.
Of course, any strength taken to an extreme becomes a weakness, so even thinking can be overdone. As we all know, it’s called “paralysis by analysis.”
However, I would posit this:
Most of us don’t think enough.
There are jobs to get to, traffic to fight, calls and emails to return, meetings to attend, kids to raise, homes to repair, bills to pay, and status updates to post. Sometimes, it’s like that hamster on a plastic wheel—he runs and runs and runs, but gets nowhere.
It might be terrific exercise and super fun for a rodent, but humans who do this are stuck in what I call a “do loop”:
We’re so busy doing we’re no longer thinking.
The truth is, as much as I believe in work, action, and gettin’ stuff done—all part of practicing personal accountability—people who win in life actually engage a lot in the hard work of which Mr. Ford spoke: thought.
What do achievers think about? Here are a dozen thoughts worth putting our minds to:
What direction do I want my life to take from here?
What do I want to become?
What are my 3 core and guiding values?
What do I want to learn?
How do I need to change?
In what way am I making a difference?
What talents of mine are underused?
How can I better support my spouse, children, co-workers, and/or friends? (Now that is a QBQ!)
To what degree am I caring for my health and fitness?
Have I become a taker or a giver?
How have I been treating loved ones recently?
When I leave this world, how do I want to be remembered?
Thinking. It’s a good thing. So find a boulder, climb on, and start pondering. Begin with this:
Which of these 12 thoughts is most important to me right now?
If you’re not getting our FREE QBQ! blogs by email, click here.
