Hello, and welcome back to The Thoughts that Bind. Today I want to begin a new series, one that highlights other people’s ideas outside of my own. I’ve briefly recommended a few books on this site, acknowledging that they’ve made a big difference in my life and how I think of things. Now I feel it’s time to talk about them and showcase them all on their own. These books changed my life, and I think they could change yours too. So let’s get into it!
The Book
The first book I want to start with for this series is “How Successful People Think: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life” by John C. Maxwell. (And no, it’s not first because it’s most important, these recommendations are in no specific order.) The premise of this book is as follows. If you want to be successful, you need to work on your brain, sharpening your thinking skills consistently. Just as you would any other tool. The book espouses the idea that everyone can become a better thinker, if they put effort into it. And it doesn’t shame you for lack of initial skill in any area, which I definitely appreciated.
The Structure
This is a very organized book, and takes you through the different kinds of thinking systematically. It explains what they are, how they are useful in life, and how to hone them. I like how this book explains the different kinds of thinking. It’s both simple enough for people who haven’t had the terms defined to them before, and yet specific and complex enough not to be boring for those who are more familiar with the different kinds of thinking.
Another bit of praise I have for this book is the fact that all forms of thinking are treated with equal amounts of respect. It is clear that when writing this book, Mr. Maxwell believed that thinking is a good thing. Also that a propensity for a certain kind of thinking is not better than another. Instead, he very much sets out to lay the information all at your feet and let you decide for yourself where your strengths lie. As well as how you would like to make goals for yourself.
I also really appreciated the fact that I felt more included in the book than I often do in books like this about self-improvement and success, especially the classics. Although there were still bits where I felt that the advice was a tad bit impractical for us regular joes, the thesis of the book was a lot more inclusive and one-size fits all than your average “how to be awesome” book. Which is to say, when it comes down to it, the point behind this book was as follows.
Train your brain to think in many different ways. Anyone can be a good thinker and a good idea can come from anywhere. If you work on strengthening your thinking skills, you will be able to be more successful, regardless of how you personally measure success. And that, to me, is an overall good and inspiring message.
My takeaways from the book
Now of course, a book about self improvement or personal development (or whatever you want to call it) needs a good message. But it also needs to help you get there. And for me, this book successfully did that. After reading it, I was left with some very important takeaways. And also I could see, off the top of my head, some improvements I could make in my life, immediately.
Organization
The first thing I realized was that when it comes to organization and planning (or strategic thinking, as the book refers to it as), I definitely needed some help. That’s never been my strong suit. Although I do enjoy making to-do lists, everything tends to be pretty off-the-cuff with me. Plans tend to be overwhelming. And then because of the lack of plans I get anxious and try to take on everything all at once, which in turn makes me inefficient.
And so, I went out and bought a planner. I know, dorky right? As it was pointed out to me, I could’ve just put everything on my phone, using Google Calendar or something. But I chose not to, because quite frankly, the act of physically writing something down helps me remember it. I figured, what good would it do me if I were to have all this information in my phone but not remember any of it?
Since then, I’ve used my planner as a place to write down my work schedule, the schedules of people I make plans with regularly, social obligations, and even mundane chores or meal prep. It is truly a place for me to set out my life in front of me, completely linear. And you know what? The more I do it, the more it seems to work for me. I never thought I would be the kind of person who enjoys and benefits from writing in an agenda, but life brings all sorts of surprises.
Planning
Another aspect of strategic thinking I needed to work on was planning in advance how to work at achieving my goals. The book mentioned how most people go through their lives without planning anything out, or the more organized ones may have a to-do list. The author says that he goes further than that. He takes one day to plan out the whole month ahead of him. He does this to the point where he knows how he’ll be using his time down to the hour for the whole next month.
Well, I wasn’t going to do that. I mean, my life changes a lot, sometimes quickly. But even if it didn’t, I don’t like to be so boxed in and bound to a rigid schedule and plans. That much structure would choke the life right out of me, and I knew that without having to try it.
That being said, I knew more planning would do me good, and so I attempted a loose weekly scheduling. Well, to begin with it was very time-regulated and specific. I loosened it as I began to see what worked and what was negatively impacting my mental and emotional wellbeing.
I found that I don’t want to know what I’ll be doing by the hour in advance. That (to me) feels like suffocation. But I do like putting my goals down on paper, and having a day to expect them done by. I do like knowing what chores I’ll be attending to on Monday or Thursday. It helps me streamline my focus and get things done faster than I otherwise would’ve. I mean, I’ll still work on things if I don’t have a planner, but seeing your goal written out in front of you with a date on it is a surprisingly good motivator.
Bottom Line Thinking
So when I read the book, I was introduced to an entirely new concept, referred to as “bottom line thinking”. I had heard of “the bottom line” before, never really knowing or thinking to ask what it meant. But this book brought up an excellent point. It’s important to get your priorities straight and to know why you’re doing something. Basically, you can think of the bottom line as your main motivation to do any specific thing.
If you don’t know the main point behind something, that can cause a lot of problems for you. You may start putting your efforts into keeping something the same that wasn’t really necessary in the first place. Or conversely, you might start making allowances that undermine the whole reason you’re doing something at all.
Once I understood this, I knew I needed to sit down and look at my goals and the reasons behind them. So I did. I thought about the things that I was doing and working toward. I looked at five activities I was doing on a regular basis that made up the bulk of my efforts and time. And then I asked myself, “what is my bottom line, main objective for this activity?” And actually, there were some surprises that I wouldn’t have realized if I had never taken the time out to ask the question. I still adhere to this practice. I even have a colorful reminder on my desk of my bottom line in each of the important areas of my life. A little reminder, because sometimes, we forget.
How Successful People Think
Ultimately, I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to improve themselves in the long run. It has a lot of really helpful tips, tricks, and perspectives. I plan on rereading it myself over the course of my life as I integrate the lessons and have the capacity to take on new ones, because it is packed with ideas that I was only able to partially implement. And that makes me really excited.
