Oh, no! I’m a lazy thinker!
Nobody thinks that they are intellectually lazy, but you won’t know until you examine the evidence. Here are the signs.
“Research” is sound bites
Details, schemetails. A second hand quote or line or two will do!
Don’t consider you could be wrong
You’re overconfident and a bit too sure.
You fall back on habits
If it worked before, it will work again!
You don’t question your beliefs
You know what you know. That’s all there is to it.
You’re an emotional thinker
If it feels right, it is right!
You follow the herd
If everyone else thinks this way, so should I! 10,000 lemmings can’t be wrong.
Okay, I’m Lazy. Now What?
Many people don’t think of themselves as leaders, but we’re all the leader of ourselves. If you don’t have a handle on that, your life is probably a wreck. Lazy thinking leads to disastrous outcomes, unhappiness, inefficiency, and unnecessary stress.
How to Turn Around Lazy Thinking
Ask lots of questions. Some people are afraid of speaking up or looking stupid. The dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.Once you get the hang of asking questions, focus on asking useful questions. If my boyfriend just broke up with me, I could ask, “Why did he stop talking to me?” or “How can I learn from this so I don’t repeat the same pattern again?” Neither is dumb, but which is more useful? Question yourself. Ask yourself why did you say that? Why do you think that? Is that what you really think? If something doesn’t make sense, change your approach.Investigate other possibilities. Hear what people who disagree with you have to say. Be open to those ideas. If they work better than your own, adopt what works. Release what doesn’t. It’s okay to change your mind. It’s called growth.Learn to think with your brain and feel with your heart. They have two different functions. Each is good at what it does. If you can tap into the cross section where the two overlap, that’s the sweet spot that never steers you wrong. Until you can feel that, think with your head.
You are the CEO of your life experience. Your happiness and success are up to you. If you’re not thinking wisely, your results probably aren’t what you hoped for.
The great news about that is that that means you are in total control, so you can make a change! This is actually part of my Let It Go Now program. If you’d like help with this, check us out here.