Thinking Time is Your New Superpower
Thinking time is such a simple concept although most don't do it often. I know I don't do it enough. The idea of taking some time out for myself makes my shoulders drop and my mind crave how I can make it happen with the chaos of life. Thinking time is blocking out time in your diary on a regular basis, (daily, 3x a week, weekly, whatever suits you) unplugging from devices and sitting with yourself. Really sitting and doing nothing. Just being. Imagine if this became your normal state?
The phrase 'thinking time' was coined by successful business guru Keith Cunningham by taking 30 minutes out of your day to work out the best decision or direction to go on a specific issue. You must slow down to accelerate. Keith's focus is on business, but this concept can be applied to any aspect of your life. To make it worthwhile and effective you need to have a question or challenge that's lingering around to focus on. It could be work related, family related or a philosophical question you're stuck on internally. If you need help thinking of a question here's a list to get you going:
- What's inspires you?
- What do you need to start measuring?
- Where are you stuck?
- What makes you feel free? happy? angry?
- What has been a mistake I've made and what have I learned from it?
- What assumptions am I making that I'm not aware I'm making?
- Where are you letting perfect get in the way of possible?
There's always something to work on, no matter how big or small, just pick one before you commit to your thinking time block and go for it. Use this time to think long and hard about this one thing and whenever your mind gets distracted bring it back to your question which will get you present again.
Are my kids getting enough thinking time as they jump from device to activity and back again? Instead of getting overwhelmed by the vastness of this question and going off on a tangent, I've used thinking time to ponder this very question. My superpower is knowing that everything is manageable, I don't have to hold up the sky and I only need to work out the next step, not all the steps. My intuition is right on target so I breathe easy and realise that my kids are their own people. Although I can create healthy boundaries, it is up to them to learn from their actions and make smart choices no matter what distractions are there. All parents are going through the same inner struggle too. As a matter of fact, it's easy to distract myself away from what I need in this present moment and this reminds me to stay in my own business and not wander into other's where I have no place being. Now that's a topic for another day...
Try putting thinking time into practice and see if you can tap into your superpower.