Scott, Author at Scott's Thinking

You’ve Got This!!

Posted on March 1, 2020

You’re an exceptional person. Sometimes you forget that. Let’s get some perspective on this.

That you were born at all, is quite a statistical feat. Never mind the point that you wake up every morning, have thoughts, can organise yourself (reasonably well), breathe, eat, turn food into energy – without even trying, and your eyes are deciphering these splotches on this page, feeding back the signal, while your super-computer of a brain is interpreting what my brain has tried to communicate. All that alone is simply amazing.

Then there is the whole thing about you and your accomplishments. You probably played at something that you were reasonably good at like a sport or musical instrument. Possibly you were a good student and did well on exams or on the chess club. Maybe you got player of the match once, won a final, went to the county championships or got on the Dean’s list.

Then you may have learned how to drive a car. It’s an everyday thing but it requires exceptional hand/eye motor skills that we take for granted. Perhaps you’ve had a very good relationship, quit an unhelpful habit, made a speech in front of some people, applied for a role, got interviewed and landed a job. Maybe you travelled somewhere all on your own, gave blood, or won a ribbon, medal or cup.

In the big scheme of things, I am certain you have achieved quite a few things in your life so far. Write down a list of at least 10 things that you have had success with – any kind of success. If you get on a roll, keep going. See if you can get 20, 30 or 80 items on your list of things you have achieved, or at least feel pretty good about – for whatever reason.

Then keep this list nearby. Add to it when you can. Review it once a week for the next 5 weeks; or every night before you go to bed. Remind yourself how you have done all sorts of pedestrian and amazing things to get you here, to this point, in life. Whatever is ahead for you, you will succeed with it.

You are an exceptional person.

You are an achiever.

You’ve got this!!

Think About It Time

Poor Kids, Lucky Kids.

Posted on February 29, 2020

In 50 years there may be no original content left to create. Everything will have been written, recorded, and documented.

There was a time, maybe several thousand (million?) years ago, when nothing was written down. Then cave dwellers started to create original content on cave walls and rocks. Some of these seem to have withstood the test of time.

Then people started to think, and feel, and create, and words were put on paper, and then music was recorded.

Everyone felt like they were the first and original creator of every idea, tome, piece of music, etc. Without any evidence to the contrary, they effectively were. At least in terms of proof. Though not necessarily in terms of reality.

Were the words written by Marcus Aurelius in Meditations, the first time anyone in history had ever thought those thoughts? Or were they just the first time they were ever captured, written down and eventually published for the world to consume?

As recorded music and books have taken off in popularity and accessibility (cost and ease of creation and consumption) in the last 70 years, more and more unique pieces have been created, written and recorded/published.

With access to GarageBand, or its equivalent/competitors, in the pockets of over 2 billion people, and growing rapidly, won’t every creative piece soon be recorded for history.

How soon will it be, before every word and every note, in every conceivable order, for a love song, or any other type, has been used and is owned by someone? How soon until every type of book has been written and there is nothing new to write?

Maybe it is longer than 50 years. Maybe it is sooner.

On the plus side, there is maybe the idea of excellence and efficiency. All the greatest hits and books will be known and available. The kids of today will know every detail of how to improve quickly, in everything, as every detail of every sport, career and relationship will have been considered, and assessed, and the optimal route to success will be available to all online.

It’s an interesting road ahead. It’s all the same. Only the names will change.

Action Gratitude Reframe your thoughts Time

Bonus Day Is Here!!

Posted on February 28, 2020

Who doesn’t love the bonus day? It’s full of excitement and expectation. Of course there is a little anxiousness mixed in as it might not turn out quite how you would have liked it too.

Money is one thing, but to have a whole extra day this year is something we are all able to enjoy. Talk about equality. We all get the same 1440 extra minutes on the 29th February 2020. Will you do something special? Will you simply enjoy the time?

If time is money, how much is this one extra day in your life worth to you?

Spend your time deliberately.

Whatever you do with your extra day, enjoy it! There is no return policy.

Action Observe Reframe your thoughts

The Easier Way To Get Great Results!

Posted on February 27, 2020

Three of the best ways to get great results are:

Motivation
Discipline
Environmental modification

Motivation is great, positive, and easier in the short term. Though a day or a week might be all you can handle before it wears off.

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.
Zig Ziglar

Discipline is difficult. It is about overcoming what you want to do and doing what you should, regardless of how you feel. You just do it. Although, it does get easier in the longer term as you train your brain and it simply becomes a habit.

Environmental modification makes everything easier. You won’t need motivation or discipline to spring out of bed at the alarm or stop you from pushing the snooze button. If you place your alarm on the far side of the room and ensure the volume is up high, you will have no choice but to wake up. You’ll race across the room to turn it off but that will have got you out of bed.

And if your running or gym gear was left out, beside the alarm, it would be so easy to just slip into it and head off for some exercise.

If you want to modify what you consume, simply don’t buy things you are trying to stay away from (chocolate, cigarettes, alcohol). It’s a lot easier to exercise self discipline when you have to leave the house to get something you may be craving. By the time you get yourself out of the house to buy the item, your motivation for change, and your growing self discipline, may have kicked in and you’ll be able to stop and head back home without making an unwanted purchase.

Set yourself up to win today. Modify your environment first. Look around and see what you can change right now. It will make using your motivation and self discipline so much easier and more effective.

Reframe your thoughts Video

The Best Videos On YouTube are…

Posted on February 26, 2020

Definitely worth making time to watch. But with 30,000 HOURS* of newly uploaded content per hour, how do you know which ones to spend your precious time on?

I can help you a little bit here. I’ve watched a fair bit of YouTube content over the years and I’ve now created a public YouTube folder for you to access. I’m starting to put my favourite clips in there so you can see some of the best ones without having to sit through the average ones. The clips I’ll post will tend to be 5-15 minutes in length, though a few will be shorter or longer. So they should be easy to consume at some point in your day.

These videos are generally U or PG, for themes, in my opinion. I try to ensure there isn’t anything in the videos with respect to language or video that I wouldn’t allow my children to see – and we will have watched many of them together. This is mainly because they frequently join me for my morning exercise sessions with YouTube on the TV. Though sometimes we watch one or two videos in the evening before bed and have a little chat afterwards.

If your mind is like a computer, and videos are like software upgrades, you’ll want you and your children to see these videos. Another way to view it is, you’re getting free education from some of the best minds in the world. Additionally, if you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with, who better to spend your time with, than some of the world’s best thinkers.

Here’s the link.

I hope you enjoy the shows and they help you see things from some different perspectives.

—————

*If you watched YouTube for 12 hours a day, seven days a week, it would take you 7 YEARS to watch all the new video content uploaded to YouTube in the last 60 minutes.

Action Goals, Results & New Thinking Health & Fitness Weight loss

Discipline Or Regret – Which One Do You Have?

Posted on February 25, 2020

Building a discipline can be a wonderful feeling. That daily routine of getting up early for some quiet time before the day gets going. Or maybe you go for a run, like I do. Some people head to the gym.

There are other healthy and beneficial disciplines too, such as standing up straight, having good posture, drinking 8 glasses of water every day, eating appropriately, getting 7-8 hours of good sleep at night, reading something positive, having positive thoughts and self-talk, and journaling. ?✍️??‍♀️?‍♂️

There are even disciplines we completely take for granted such as breathing. Thankfully our body takes care of this one.

Having some positive disciplines, like those listed above, can keep you mentally and physically strong and healthy. These disciplines all take a little effort and they can be harder for some people. But you always have a choice of which pain you are willing to endure. Short term pain for long term gain? Or vice versa? You can push back on the discipline, and think you have cheated the system, for a little while. But the harmony in the universe will snap back into place at some point.

”We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.”
Jim Rohn

Without some good disciplines things can go in the wrong direction. We can see this with our physique and hear our minds’ challenges through the words we speak. This is when regret creeps in. It takes some time before we notice the changes, but by then, less helpful habits have joined us and impact our every day. We start to regret those little indiscretions, those one off moments where we let our discipline lapse. ?????

The good news is you can turn this around! You just need to apply your disciplines again – little and often – until you are back on track and seeing and hearing that better version of you again.

Take a few minutes today and commit to one of the actions above and do it every day this week. Next week try adding a second one. Continue with both disciplines for a couple of weeks before trying to add in the third and forth ones. Good luck! ?

Action Goals, Results & New Thinking

There Is Always A Way!

Posted on February 24, 2020

I was watching a Diddy and Dalio chat on YouTube this morning, while doing some exercise, and I was interested to hear that they both have this philosophy – that there is always a way. It’s always nice to hear other people say things you believe, whether they are famous or not.

This point of view reminded me of a quote that is on a plaque I bought when I was about 16. I had it on the wall in my bathroom at my Mom’s house back then, and it is still there today. The quote is, “The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.”

There is always a way to get closer to your goals. Start with getting better informed. This can begin with a Google search, a magazine, a book, YouTube or a conversation. Then use that information to grow a little more and gather more wisdom and connections in your space. When a door shuts, look for an open window. Keep pushing forward on your quest.

I’ve used this philosophy to go from growing up on a dairy farm in rural Ontario, Canada, to having lived and worked on four continents before I was 30. Twice I have taken time out, for a year or more, to travel and explore the world: Once while at university and again in my mid-30’s.

Start living with this philosophy when you are young. Know that there will be speed bumps but always continue on towards your goal. If you are reading this, and you are not as young as you once were, even more reason to focus and go after your big goal with concentrated action and determination.

Try this today on one or two things that you feel is very important to you. Find a way to move it forward, even with just a phone call. Sometimes you’ll be amazed at how a little effort can get the universe on your side. And that is sure to get you smiling. ?

Action Observe Progress Think About It

What Ten Words Describe You?

Posted on February 23, 2020

Can you describe yourself? It’s a great exercise. Try it right now.

Grab a pen and paper or toggle into your notes section of your device.

Write the numbers from 1 to 10. Then see how many single words (or short phrases) you can write about yourself, up to a maximum of 10.

These words should describe what you think of you, right now. It’s not what your best friend thinks of you or what you think your mother might say. Be as objective and honest/realistic as you can. You don’t have to show anyone.

To get your mental gears going, here are a few examples:

Olympian
Tea lover
Clean Air Advocate
Student
Soccer/Football fan

This is not a forever list. It can change as your life changes or your perception changes.

For those of you in the advanced class, now write 10 words/short phrases you would like to describe you by 1 January 2022.

If you had put smoker today, you may want to become a Clean Air Advocate by 2022. If you had put Olympian, you may want to describe yourself as a gold medalist after this summers’ Olympics. You may wish to move from ‘good father’ to ‘world class dad’.

These two lists are good steps to help you learn about yourself and see what you can achieve.

Many people will spend far more time planning their holiday than they will discovering who they are and what changes they could make to bring more joy to their life.

Consider this the first step towards becoming the person you would most like to be. Still yourself: Just a better version of you.

Go make those lists!

(If you get stuck, go into the Facebook group pages and I can help you out.)

Action Observe Reframe your thoughts

Focus On The Outcome You Want

Posted on February 22, 2020

This seems to be the highest probability way to get what you want in life. If you are not getting things that you want, check your word selection and order, listen carefully to your self-talk and be mindful of the questions you ask and statements you make: even in jest.

As you focus on achieving the outcome you are looking for, your mind gathers information, evidence, options, connections and other relevant materials to make this work.

The same is true if you happen to mention things you don’t want. This is why people that happen to mention the negative outcome they don’t want, seem to attract the negative outcome.

It is not a guaranteed way for things to work out positively or negatively, but there seems to be a higher probability that what you focus on, speak about, think through and ‘see’, is more likely to come to pass.

Just try framing things in a positive, specific way each time you refer to something. Catch yourself when you say things using a negative or it is the opposite of what you want. For example, “What if she says no?” Could be reframed to, “What if she says yes?”. “I don’t want to spend hours shopping, I don’t have time today”, could become, “I want to be quick and select only the things I need and clearly want so I can be done in 20 minutes.”

Give it a try today. See if you can spot when you‘re framing something in the negative. Give yourself some kudos if you find yourself framing or re-framing in the positive. If you don’t already do this, it can take some time to become a habit. It is worth it though. Good luck!

Action Gratitude Health & Fitness Think About It

If You Could Save Someone’s Life Right Now, Would You?

Posted on February 21, 2020

Would you really? What if it took five minutes out of your busy day? Would you still make the effort? If you could save the life of someone’s daughter, brother or Nan, but to save their life would require you to redirect 60 minutes of your precious time on earth, would you do it?

If you’re still convinced you would do it, that you would step up and sacrifice 60 minutes of your life to help someone else keep their life, that’s pretty wonderful intent.

If so, then sometime today, google and call your local blood donor clinic and book yourself an appointment to give blood. Most people can do the whole process in less than an hour. It is free. You lay down for 20 minutes and then they usually give you cookies and drink afterward ???. Simple.

You don’t need to be a trained medical professional, like a doctor, nurse or paramedic, to help save someone’s life. But you do need to be able to execute on your amazing intent.

I’ve been donating since my early 20’s, despite not being a fan of needles at all. I figure, if someone else is in a life or death situation, possibly in pain I can’t imagine, then I can handle a tiny, little, needle wince for a second. I don’t know anyone who has received my blood, but it is pretty amazing to think that there are people who are alive today, because I keep showing up.

My next appointment is on the 12th of March. When is yours?

To book an appointment, and see other information, click Blood UK, Canadian Blood Services, American Red Cross, or google ‘blood donations’ for your area.

(I was inspired to write my thoughts on blood donation by a really interesting piece a friend of mine from secondary school did on, “What happens to blood after you donate it?”. You can see the work Neil and his team did here.)