Think About It Archives - Page 69 of 85

Challenging Opinions

Posted on May 5, 2021

Do you agree with everyone? Has anyone ever rejected your opinion? Do you tend to reply to opposing comments? Challenging opinions can be helpful under certain circumstances. Most other times it just leads to frayed nerves, frustration and difficult circumstances.

If I am looking for constructive feedback, receiving a different perspective to my own can be helpful. However, if I am stating my opinion as a matter of belief, a challenge can be taken as a direct affront to my belief system.

If you add in some hot button, extremist words, like many of the ists, you add personal insult and casual hyperbole to the situation. A fair few people will take those personal attacks quite, well, personally. Some people will continue the engagement and reply in a variety of ways. Although, they can easily fall into an inappropriate response mode as well.

So when and where do you challenge people’s opinions? Possibly in the appropriate forum with people who are up to having that discussion. You wouldn’t walk up to people playing football in the park and explain how they are doing it wrong. So why do we feel the need to engage with others who are conversing?

So do we simply let people have their opinion and walk away? Or do we need to set them straight by how we see the world? And how they should too. Lots of questions. What are your thoughts?

I’m open to challenging opinions.

Action Progress Think About It

How To Achieve Your Dream

Posted on May 4, 2021

Achieving a goal starts with the idea. But where do you go from there? How to achieve your dream, or anything you want, comes down to a simple process.

That process is like the one for anything else in life. What are the steps to getting dressed in the morning? How does a person book a meeting with three others or a holiday for the family? When you think about it, you will notice the same steps repeating over and over again.

I have distilled this specific process down to seven steps. I have outlined and further highlighted these steps in my forthcoming book, Achieve Anything – The 7 Simple Steps to Shift from Uncomfortable to Unstoppable. You can sign up for launch updates at www.scottsbook.com.

The seven steps are Think, Overcome, Write, Plan, Act, Review and Celebrate. TOWPARC may not be the sexiest acronym but that’s what it is.

For any achievement you plan to undertake, you will need to think about it and develop a good mindset. You will need to overcome the obstacles in your path, both physical and those in your mind. Like an architect or travel agent, you will need to write out the plan so it is clear to you.

Then you make a plan to work to. This plan could involve hiring tradesmen, buying materials or getting the permit timings just right. For travel, it might involve which clothes and equipment to pack, which airport to use, transfers, hotels and even which local activities to book in advance.

Then you must act and make this plan come to life. As you progress you can review on each step you have made and make any adjustments. Few things go according to plan, so you will need to continually review it and make corrections or improvements. Finally, When you are sitting in your newly built home or enjoying your amazing holiday, remember to celebrate. Celebrate the wins that got you there and the overall win as well.

This is how to achieve your dream.

Action Observe Property Think About It

Finding Opportunities

Posted on April 30, 2021

How do you find things you want? What thought process do you go through? Finding opportunities is a process but you need to follow the steps.

A friend is finding property opportunities in the new build space. He’s found a property to tear down and replace with two. He has also found some land where he could build several properties. Meanwhile, someone asked him how he did that as there were no opportunities to be found. He had been told there were no more land parcels to build new homes.

So while one person is out looking for possibilities, the other has chosen to accept that there are none. In my experience, people looking for something are more likely to find it. Perhaps it won’t be found in the first place you look. This certainly can be the case when looking for car keys or glasses.

However, if you are certain you will find them, you keep looking. Though the sensible person will look in different places. However, a person may return to a location and look more carefully or make some enquiries. These tactics also make finding something more likely.

Of course you can wait until someone brings the great deal to you. But you could be waiting all your life. So get out there!

Finding opportunities is about being very clear on your desired target and then looking in areas it is most likely to be. Speaking to lots of people and asking the right questions is also a very useful skill. So is listening.

Action Observe Think About It

Your Favourite Brand

Posted on April 29, 2021

What brand makes you most happy with your life? What is it that makes you feel that way? Your favourite brand can tell you a lot about yourself.

What brand values are critical to your selection? Do you value fun and whimsical, strength and honesty or perhaps precision and consistency? Products and services that really make us feel great are very powerful.

People are emotional beings. We respond and react to things on an emotional level more strongly than anything else. If you have the right product for you, the feeling can be one of warmth and comfort. This feeling you get can be so good in trying to help you to relax, sleep, calm down or just chill out.

Write down a list of your feel great products. Not the, “ho hum, that’ll do” ones but the ones that really stir things up inside. Write the first one, three or seven that spring to mind. If you can still jot down more, you should do so. A bit like popcorn, keep going until the ideas are only coming at a rate of one every few seconds.

Then see what you can learn from these and what moves you.

Your favourite brand, and brands, can be illuminating!

Observe Think About It

The Weather Affects You

Posted on April 28, 2021

Everyone is impacted differently by the weather. Circumstances can also play a part in how you feel about it. The weather affects you in different ways at different times.

I am not a fan of being caught out in the rain. Though sometimes it can be fun if you have the right clothes or equipment for it. It’s also a little different if you are out for 30 minutes near your home. At least then you can pop in and dry off, warm up or change clothes. If you are on a three day camping trip, rain is rarely fun. Perhaps a short shower would be fine but continual wet is a bit of a challenge.

Now, if it is hot and wet, that can be a completely different story. An hour of rain, during summer in Mexico, when it is 38 degrees might take the edge off the humidity. That can be quite refreshing. But when it is close to freezing, say 2 degrees, then rain is not a lot of fun.

Some people love snow, or sunshine. Spring skiing with both is brilliant. Darkness for months, during winter can also affect people a great deal. As with most things in life, it depends. It depends on you and your circumstances.

It’s good to be aware how the weather affects you.

Action Observe Reframe your thoughts Think About It

Check Your Highest Thoughts

Posted on April 23, 2021

What filters do you use to see the world? Are you in favour of rose-tinted glasses? Or are you a hardened sceptic? Check your highest thoughts carefully as they are the ones you filter the world through. This in turn creates your reality.

Remember, it is not the reality. It is simply your interpretation of reality. If you think people are inherently good, you will see the positive in people’s actions. If you deem people to be evil, then that is how you will generally see people’s actions. And of course you can take sub-categories of people too.

For example, let’s say you think that wealthy people are evil, corrupt and morally bankrupt. Then, even when a multi-billionaire donates a billion dollars to a charity or hospital, you’ll find the negative. You might ask why they are so greedy and why didn’t they donate more? Or you could reference how they are just using it as a tax write-off and publicity stunt.

Your thoughts can betray you as you create stories in your head based on how you want to believe the world is. Though, often enough, the world is not as we create it in our heads with our preferred filter.

Check your highest thoughts. Enlightenment is closer than you think.

Action Observe Think About It

How Are Jobs Created?

Posted on April 21, 2021

You want a job. They help with your income, self-esteem and confidence. However, they can be elusive. How are jobs created? If we know how, why and where jobs are created, we can better position ourselves to be chosen for them.

Jobs tend to appear wherever someone needs a person to do some work. Sometimes a job is to fill an immediate vacancy because somebody died or suddenly left. Other times there is some lead time due to the circumstances of the current job holder. For example, they may have been promoted or fired or even given in their notice of resignation.

A job could also be created in a new company or a growing company looking to expand. Positions are also created during reorganisations due to a new strategy or new leaders looking at building in a different direction.

If you like to be involved in a turnaround situation, look to companies with a recent earnings slump or a new CEO. If you like good efficient cultures, join a firm that is in a growth mode in a growth industry. Joining Netflix in 2007 would have been better than joining Blockbuster. Netflix pivoted into streaming while Blockbuster kept closing stores.

How are jobs created? It is usually by someone assessing a need in a company or division. They believe they need, and can afford, more help.

Gratitude Health & Fitness Observe Progress Think About It Time Weight

The Irony Of Science And Medicine

Posted on April 20, 2021

It is incredible to see all the advances in science and medical interventions. Millions of people are saved every year. The irony of science and medicine is that with 100’s of millions of people saved, the planet has a population and consumption issue.

One hundred years ago, people would die earlier. They would live to 30 or 40 years old and then something would happen. Several people lived into their 70’s and 80’s but it was a lot more unique back then.

Advances have meant that we don’t really need to look after ourselves very well because some smart person will save us. Previously, if you smoked too much you might die of lung cancer. Or if you overate, you may have died from type two diabetes or heart failure.

Things like Polio, Malaria, Infections and many other nasty situations would kill large swathes of the population. Today, many of these deadly circumstances can be avoided by a jab or some antibiotics.

The 1918 flu pandemic, killed roughly 50m people. 500m were infected of the 1.5bn estimated on the planet. With 5 times the people on Earth today, we could have seen 250m Covid deaths globally. That the number has just passed 3m may be a testament to the advances we’ve had.

A great job has been done saving people and prolonging their lives. Although, that seems to have contributed to a climate situation that could kill a lot more.

The irony of science and medicine.

Action Observe Reframe your thoughts Think About It Time

Creating Your Own Prison

Posted on April 19, 2021

Have you ever felt trapped? It could be because of your circumstances, your choices or your thoughts. Creating your own prison is not what most of us set out to do.

Yet, many of us do it at some point in our lives. We may get into a great relationship but then things turn and we feel trapped. We also dive into things like a job or our own business and then feel we can’t escape. Lastly, we develop a way of thinking, patterns, that are unhelpful. We set up a guard to keep us stuck where we are.

Become aware of such things before you set off down a certain path. Ask yourself what the end of this path might look like in several years. Sometimes we can see clues to our future. We need to consider these signs, clues and intuition moments.

If we don’t see these when we set off, keep an eye out for signposts and side roads. If we are paying attention, we can recognise patterns of behaviour before they negatively impact us. These can be our own or the actions of others.

If you feel trapped in a situation, consider what you are grateful for. Also, consider what the many options are that you have. Think of the easy ones and the hard ones. Don’t just swap a tough situation for another one.

Certainly don’t make creating your own prison a habit.

Action Observe Reframe your thoughts Think About It

Ask These Two Questions

Posted on April 16, 2021

What do you hope the outcome of your actions will be? What might be the outcome of your actions? Ask these two questions of yourself each time you post on any social media. In addition, you can reflect on these questions after any conversation or physical action you undertake.

Assess the outcome of your actions from your supporters perspective and also your critics. Get the actual outcome. Do not only use your biased or ego-driven opinion.

I felt this concept was timely to address today. In part due to yesterday’s blog post and also due to a tweet I saw earlier today. Finally, it fits in with Section 6, Review, of my forthcoming book, Achieve Anything.

The tweet was from a woman who was not pleased that, and how, someone on the set asked what her role was. The question seemed to be a benign set of words but tone and context would have been helpful to more fully understand.

I didn’t question or comment on the tweet as I only like to add positive comments. This one didn’t feel like there was one available. Or it might not have been seen as such, and that is not my intent either.

I did wonder, for far too many minutes, what her intent was. So many potential ideas, yet few of them positive. Apart from what seemed like some self-indulgence and a viral tweet (80k likes on a 2k account).

Before her, or your, next communication to the world, perhaps one could ask these two questions.