Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 45 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life (Part 2)

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. By consuming these daily wisdom nuggets, you will digest the principles needed to help you in your quest to become healthy, wealthy, and wise as we trek through life together.  This is Day 45 of our Trek, and for the next few days we will continue our Trek to look at how changing our thinking can dramatically change our lives.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina.  The client workload and activities should be consistently busy this week.  It will be a good week to spend indoors during the day as the temperatures in North Carolina are anticipated to be above 95° for the next two weeks. It certainly has been warm this summer.

We are continuing a several day Trek where we will stop at twelve waypoints or rest areas along our trail. When hiking long distances (as our life trek is), it is always good to plan in advance where your rest stops or waypoints will be.  This will help to measure your progress and make sure that you do not get off the trail.

At each waypoint along our Trek this week, we will have the occasion to reflect on and change how we think. By changing our thinking, these waypoints will also allow us to change our lives in a positive way.

Yesterday we reflected on the first waypoint which was Cultivating Big-Picture Thinking.  It followed two days when we looked at the science and results of big picture thinking. If you missed any of the past three days of podcasts, please go back and listen to them, or read our daily journal entries. This will give you the foundation for this week’s Trek.

As we ended our podcast yesterday, I asked you to reflect on the question, “Am I thinking beyond myself and my world so that I process ideas with a holistic perspective?”

Did you take time to think about how you would answer this question?  To grow in wisdom each day, we should be asking ourselves the difficult questions that cause us to reflect on our lives so that we can expand our world. It is then we will have the capability to impact others to a greater capacity.

It’s time to break camp now and head towards the next waypoint or rest stop.  As we head down the trail today, let us focus on what we learn at each stop and think creatively on how this will help us to live abundantly in all areas as we are creating a living legacy.

Wise and successful people practice certain thinking habits, and in order for you to become wise and successful, you need to entrench these same thinking habits into you mind.

2. Engage in Focused Thinking

Focused thinking allows you to think clearly about a problem. This skill helps you to direct energy toward a specific objective, bring more clarity to issues, and take ideas to the next level. When engaging in focused thinking, you should select challenges or areas that are most likely to have the greatest impact.

Here are five ways that you can improve your focused thinking:

• Eliminate distractions and focus on areas that will provide the greatest impact.
• Devote time to focused thinking. Although multi-tasking is a popular word in today’s world, it is not conducive to focused thinking. New evidence has shown that we really cannot multitask and, for most people, working on multiple tasks at a time is really counterproductive.
• Keep items of focus in view. You must concentrate on things that matter. You must keep the important items of focus in front of you.
• Set milestones. When you set clear objectives, it is easy for the mind to focus.
• Question your progress. Periodically monitor whether you have made progress. Progress is the best measure of whether your focused thinking is working well.

As you gain wisdom and experience, the need to focus becomes more critical. The more you grow, the more focused you can be – and need to be.

Focus Question: “Am I dedicated to removing distractions and mental clutter so that I can concentrate with clarity on the real issue?”

3. Harness Creative Thinking

Creative thinking is an important part of how wise and successful individuals think, but we find few people possess this skill. To be a creative thinker you need to value ideas, enjoy exploring options, embrace uncertainty, celebrate the unconventional, connect what is seemingly unconnected, and do not fear failure.

Creative thinking is valuable because it results in a large number of ideas for consideration. To adopt creative thinking you need to be seeking new ideas and learning more.

Here are five ways to stimulate your creativity:

• Avoid spending too much time with “creativity killers.” Creativity killers are people who are comfortable with the status quo and do not embrace new ideas. When you have a great idea, you must not let anyone dissuade you.
• Ask the right questions. If you are going to think creatively and to challenge the status quo, it is necessary that you ask good questions.
• Develop a creative environment for yourself. Negative environments destroy great ideas, but creative environments are like greenhouses where your great ideas are cultivated. Focus on innovation and allow yourself to dream.
• Spend time with other creative people. One way to counteract a negative environment is to spend time with creative people. Creativity tends to be contagious. Spend time with those that bring out the best in you.
• Get out of “your box.” It is easy to get stuck in the same routines. One of the best ways to avoid this is for you to seek out new paradigms through travel or reading about new subjects.

Focus Question: “Am I working to break out of my “box,” exploring ideas and options, so I can experience creative breakthrough?”

When reflecting on these two waypoints for today, we see how proper thinking provides a person with wisdom and ability. This brings to my mind when Moses was planning for the construction of the tabernacle.  He needed to select people who were both focused and creative in their thinking, evident in Exodus 35:25, “All the women who were skilled in sewing and spinning prepared blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen cloth.” Also in verse 31 we see, “The Lord has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts.”  The entire 35^th chapter of Exodus is a very interesting read. I would highly recommend.

Think about the two questions that were asked today. Reflect on them. This is an important step in changing your thinking and changing your mind.

As your guide, friend, mentor, and fellow sojourner, let me know how I can help you to become a better thinker, leader, and mentor to your tribe.

Well, that will finish our podcast for today. If you missed any of our previous podcasts, please check out Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud or Wisdom-Trek.com.

As we continue our Trek about thinking tomorrow, we will study how changing our thinking can literally change our lives.

So, please join us at our “camp” tomorrow for another day on our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you enjoy our daily doses of wisdom, I encourage each of you to help us in the following four ways:

1. Leave us feedback about the podcast on Wisdom-Trek.com.
2. Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher, so the podcast will be downloaded automatically.
3. Leave a rating on iTunes or Stitcher, so we can gain exposure on those platforms.If you previously left us a rating, I certainly appreciate it.
4. Spread the word to everyone you know to join us on our Wisdom-Trek.

Thank you!

The journal from this podcast can be found at Wisdom-Trek.com, where we also have pictures, tweetable quotes, wisdom nuggets, and free resources.

As we take this Trek together let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy the Journey, and Create a Great Day! See you tomorrow!