I’ve been reading John Maxwell’s Thinking for a Change. You can discover nuggets of wisdom in every page, it seems, but the one truth he’s returned to multiple times is the importance of reflecting and thinking about how your values, time management, relationships affect your everyday life.
Today’s culture doesn’t allow much time for thinking. We’re told to … act! Produce! Execute! We plug ourselves in 24/7 to cable, social media or mobile devices. You might think you’re a deep thinker, but how many hours a week do you stop to think and reflect on what you’ve done?
Maxwell’s exhorts his readers to embrace the lessons of reflective thinking:
- Set aside time for reflection. He suggests a couple of hours a week to ask yourself: What have you accomplished? What would you like to do? How would you improve?
- Remove yourself from distractions. I would add to this the need to reflect in a different environment.
- Regularly review your calendar or journal.
- Ask the right questions related to values, relationships and experiences.
- Cement your learning through action.
The most significant takeaway from this book so far is that if you don’t stop and think about your next move, you can’t think strategically. When you don’t think strategically, you can’t make a plan.
And “the one with the plan,” Maxwell says, “is the one with the power.”
