SPECIFIC Archives - Scott's Thinking

Plant Now To Harvest Later

Posted on July 3, 2021

Where you are today is directly linked to the actions you took five years ago. Did you plant the crop you wanted? Plant now to harvest later.

Because growth is hard to see over the short term, we can ignore our actions for awhile. Although that is not what you want to be doing.

You must be intentional with your thoughts and actions today. If you are, you increase the likelihood of achieving the results you desire.

It does take time and it does take effort. You need to tend to your goals like you tend to a garden. Keep the weeds away. Weeds are like the negative influences of well meaning friends and family.

Some people and situations will try your beliefs. You will need resilience to carry on and continue to push forward towards your dreams.

Be clear what you are planting. Be clear on what results you want in a week, month, year and five years. You can adjust later if your desires change.

However, don’t change because it’s hard. Keep pressing on in that case. It is ok to change course. But do it for the right reason. You’ll be happier for it in the long run.

Plant now to harvest later.

Action Financial

Set Specific Metrics

Posted on May 27, 2021

We all would like to have more money. But how much more? You need to be clear with the universe. Set specific metrics so that you know whether you met the target or not.

I know it seems a little odd to be so precise with future outcomes. In addition, it is hard to feel confident with numbers that don’t have a solid basis.

But that is why you must do the numbers. You need to put in a few minutes with a calculator and pencil. Better still would be to use a spreadsheet so that you can quickly process changes in your assumptions. Also, a spreadsheet is a clean and easy way to see the numbers. You can also show others when things are neat, tidy and legible.

So decide on the numbers. For example, if you would love to achieve a £200,000 income before taxes this year, what has to happen? Do you need a new job, another job or a side hustle? If you sell dining tables at £2,000 each, you need to sell 100 tables. But what if each table costs £700 and your admin costs per table are 300? With only a £1,000 net, you will need to sell twice as many tables, or 200, to hit your target.

Set specific metrics so you know what you are aiming at and if you hit it.

Progress Think About It

Precision Is The Key To Success

Posted on July 9, 2020

Whether you are attempting secondary school mathematics, or helping NASA prepare for a rocket launch, I believe precision is the key to success.

You don’t generally play a piano. You select specific keys and strike them with precision. Playing any key in any order while lazily hitting random keys together, is unlikely to make a great symphony.

The more precise you become with something, the greater your probability of success with it. I think people generally understand this concept. We see so many people trying to learn, practice and improve their skills. It could be at school on tests, in sports, or during their career.

The more precise you can be in speaking and communicating, the more success you are likely to find in whatever endeavour you pursue. This can be particularly true when you ask for something. Make sure you are clear about what your are asking for. The greater the precision, the more likely people will understand the request and be able to deliver on it.

I always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific.
Lily Tomlin

When following instructions it is useful to follow along precisely. For some reason, people sometimes ignore the instructions or skip over several steps. I wouldn’t be so brazen. Especially if it is important.

Follow every step precisely because precision is the key to success. ?

Goals, Results & New Thinking

Be Specific – It Will Change Your Life For The Better

Posted on May 24, 2020

Generalising can be too easy. Being too general can make communication challenging. Be specific – it will change your life for the better.

If you have ever had someone give you directions, this idea will make more sense. Some people are fairly vague and general in delivering commentary on how to get somewhere.

This is in contrast to someone who is clear about where they are sending you. It’s great to get good, clear, specific direction or instructions. It makes life so much easier with less anxiety or stress.

Another good example area is the realm of gifts. Someone might say they would like a book about baseball for their birthday. Great! You think that this will be easy. And it could be.

Go to the shop or browse online for a baseball book. But it would be even better if they had narrowed down what specific type of baseball book.

Baseball books could be about being an owner, manager, coach, player of a specific position, groundsman, talent scout, admin, other office support worker, agent, hot dog vendor or souvenir shop staff, to name a few. In addition, it could be a work of fiction, an autobiography, biography, or historical analysis, etc.

When confirming the request, ask them to be specific – it will change your life for the better.

Remember to do this with your goals. Make them very specific. It might feel a bit weird at first but it’s an important skill to develop. If you don’t, the universe will find it hard to deliver on your request.

Rather than getting a baseball biography about Babe Ruth, you could end up with an autobiography written by a disenchanted hot dog vender.

Make your goals specific!

Observe Progress Think About It

Stop Generalising And Get Specific

Posted on March 17, 2020

You may be frequently frustrated if you often use generalisations and the sample size of one. Using words like “they”, “the government”, “everybody” and “no one” can feel good at the time, and can help you speak more quickly, but to your detriment.

In the long run, it is to your advantage to be more precise in the words you speak.

Being more precise in your word selection and word order will make you sound like a more polished individual. You will be clearer and others will understand you better.

A particular time in life, when being specific is more beneficial, is when you are setting your goals. ‘They said I could join them to climb a mountain‘ is good but not nearly as useful as “My climbing instructor, Dave, said I could join their expedition to climb to the base camp of Everest on the 15th April 2020”.

Just for this morning, try to catch yourself each time you make sweeping generalisations. Then for each one, try to replace it with a more specific word or phrase.

(Expert level: Note also the generalisations that come out of the mouth of others and see what impact that has on you and their comments). Enjoy!