Category Archives: Thought

“What you do today is important because…”

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“What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.”

—Author Unknown

Photo from Flickr by GotCredit

Photo from Flickr by GotCredit

What is a day worth? If you were to calculate the monetary value of one full revolution of planet Earth, what would the exact value be?

The professional service providers who are my coaching clients often bill out at hourly rates. Just to make the math simple for this example, we’ll assume a rate of $200/hour. One 24-hour day would be worth $4,800.

Add that to the qualitative value you attribute to each day you spend with family, friends, and colleagues, engaged in enjoyable and meaningful pursuits.

EXERCISE:

Based on the scenario above, select a number which represents the value you attribute to a single day. As you look at today and look forward to tomorrow, how will you spend your “life equity” to make the most of this miracle called life?

Everything you Think

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“Don’t believe everything you think.”

—Allan Lokos, founder of the Community Meditation Center in New York City

Photo from Flickr by Karen Neoh

Photo from Flickr by Karen Neoh

I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase, “Don’t believe everything you hear.” Over the years, most of us have learned to take much of what we hear or read with the proverbial grain of salt.

At some point however, we decide what we are going to internalize and cement within us as truth. This choosing, whether intentional or perhaps mostly unconscious, can be useful and at the same time, limiting. Usually, these thoughts help us navigate our world efficiently and effectively, supporting a form of life momentum.

Alternatively, sometimes our thinking simply doesn’t work or serve us in certain situations.

EXERCISE:

Take out a piece of paper or Post-it Note, and write the following questions:

  • How does my current thinking help or hurt this situation?
  • What alternative thoughts would generate even more work-ability?

If you have been reading The Quotable Coach series for some time, you may know that Edward DeBono’s The Six Thinking Hats is a resource I refer to frequently.

“Our life always expresses the results of our dominant thoughts.”

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“Our life always expresses the results of our dominant thoughts.”

– Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher and theologian

561Image from Flickr by mkismkismk.

I recently participated in a webinar on social and emotional intelligence, as part of my continuing coach education. Fundamental to this form of intelligence are the areas of self-awareness and self-management. A substantial part of these relate to what Kierkegaard refers to as our dominant thoughts.

Explore the two lists below to see if any of these topics relate to your thinking:

  • Work
  • Family
  • Community
  • Gratitude
  • Achievement
  • Excellence
  • Spirituality
  • Growth
  • Stress
  • Worry
  • Fear
  • Anger
  • Resentment
  • Envy
  • Upsets
  • Shame

Exercise:

Consider journaling about your dominant thoughts today to make a list of your own. Aim to have more of the good ones and less of the unhelpful ones, to support your own emotional intelligence journey and your desire to have a more fulfilling life.

“The unfed mind devours itself.”

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“The unfed mind devours itself.”

—Gore Vidal, writer

Image from Unsplash

We’ve all heard the phrase “you are what you eat.” Perhaps this is also the case with our thoughts.

When we feed ourselves positive, affirming ideas and thoughts, our lives expand and become better. When we feed ourselves negative and critical thoughts – which often occur when our minds are not enriched – we tend to regress, becoming smaller and far less fulfilled.

Exercise:

If the phrase thoughts become things has some truth to it, plan your future cerebral meals carefully to include only the choicest morsels.

  • Consider purchasing a copy of John Maxwell’s Maxwell Daily Reader to chew on each day.
  • Read a passage from the Bible, Torah, Koran or another inspirational book.

Of course, please keep reading and sharing The Quotable Coach with others. I will do my best to make it worth your time!

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“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today – today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.”

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“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today – today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.”

– Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian drummer and social activist

With the holiday season upon us, this little quote seems timely. I’m not big on standing in long lines, even if it is to get a great bargain – and most of my readers know that a great gift for me is a remarkable book, to learn something new, or to have a unique experience.

Fun reflections on the past, and inspiring thoughts about the future, are natural for most of us. However, this quote suggests that we work on being fully present to the “nows” that occur every day.

Exercise:

Purchase a notebook or journal and name it your “now” notebook. Each evening, capture how you lived each day by being fully present to the people, events and opportunities that occur.

Before retiring, consider saying a little prayer that you get to open another wonderful present tomorrow.

Quote 120: “The environment you fashion out of your thoughts, your beliefs, your ideals, your philosophy is the only climate you will ever live in.”

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“The environment you fashion out of your thoughts, your beliefs, your ideals, your philosophy is the only climate you will ever live in.”

– Stephen Covey, author and professional speaker

What if we could control the weather? What if we could live in our own inner San Diego all the time?

We have all heard the phrase that so-and-so has a “sunny disposition,” or that this or that person is shrouded in a “dark and stormy cloud.”

Exercise:

How can you change your thoughts, beliefs and ideals, and live in a climate of your own creation?

How will doing so make each and every day a bit brighter?

For extra credit, share this ability with others, so that they too can fashion out their own more pleasant environments.

#94: “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

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– William Shakespeare, playwright

Our ability as humans to interpret the world around us is remarkable. Consider your thoughts about the following pairs of words:

  • life – death
  • win – lose
  • big – small
  • happy – sad
  • right – wrong
  • power – force
  • full – empty
  • leadership – management
  • optimism – pessimism
  • young – old
  • growth – decline
  • success – failure
  • strong – weak
  • natural – artificial

Exercise:

Is there a fundamental “goodness” or “evil” in anything?

How does your thinking about the world and others help you or limit you? How could you expand or shift your thinking to lead a far more fulfilling life?

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