“You want to change your results, then change your decisions”

Dan T. Cathy

Did you know that the average adult makes about 35,000 conscious decisions every day? And that’s just a regular day!  Now, step into leadership, management, ownership or parenthood and those decisions accelerate in both quantity and severity.

You’ve heard the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect different results. Sadly, on a daily basis we spend a large part of our life and decision-making rehash the same decisions over and over again producing the same kinds of results.

Do you want to see, to experience and to produce different results? Then, you must start thinking differently. Because when you think different, you decide differently. And decisions are the doorways of behavior. 

You don’t need a new vision, a new plan or a new dream until you first have a new thought. What does a good mentor, counselor or coach do? Ultimately, they are stretching your minds to a point where you begin to think differently. When you think differently you begin to see things differently. Seeing things differently helps you decide differently—the place where you make your decisions.

The reality is that no one can see the future. For if we could, we wouldn’t have to think, we simply would just have to react. Good reactions stem from good mental discipline.

The Example of the High Speed Chase 

Think of it this way: a high speed car chase. Law enforcement most often gets the bad guy. Why? Law enforcement trains and is equipped for the eventually that a bad guy will get in a fast car and attempt to drive at high speeds away from law enforcement. The bad guy doesn’t train to elude police, but law enforcement trains to catch bad guys at high speeds. The bad guy is using thinking (albeit reckless and dangerous) that is reactionary. The good guys (yes, law enforcement #backtheblue) are responding based upon countless hours of training and teamwork. There is a difference between reacting and responding.

Reacting is your thoughtless, automatic movement to stimulus. Reactionary thinking is really careless thinking. It’s like impulse thinking. This is acting without planning. There are times when you need reactionary thinking, but almost everyone of them involves an immediate response to a dangerous situation. But, most people freeze in those situations. When you just react in your marriage, in your business or in your relationships, you are almost always at a disadvantage. It’s like trying to be a one-legged dancer. It just looks and feels awkward.

“The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.” 

Proverbs 27:12

Responding is the calculated activity to a situation or circumstance. Responding the work of a prudent person. A prudent person is a wise person committed to thinking through, thinking around and thinking beyond a situation or circumstance.  To calculate requires thoughtful preparation and mental discipline. Two highly trained dancers working as a pair are a beautiful thing. The graceful lines, the calculated movements and the perfect positioning are all evidence of countless hours of preparation, discipline and training. They make it look easy and seamless, but it’s only because they are responding appropriately and timely.

“The future’s coming at us faster than we think“

Louie Giglio 

When the future comes fast, our responses born of our thoughts must be measured, disciplined and calculated.

Worthy of the Calling

Dan T. Cathy challenges leaders to get their thinking in alignment. When a vehicle is out of alignment two things happen: the rubber that meets the road gets warped & it begins to drift. When your thoughts are out of alignment this warped thinking leads to drifting. Drifting always leads to the ditch!

“New days require new thinking”

Each new day requires new thought. You don’t have a crystal ball and you are not Michael J. Fox in a Delorean time machine. You can’t change yesterday, but you can begin to think differently about today, which can lead to a different tomorrow.

1. Think Differently. This means new thought. New thought often needs a new process. If you leave your thoughts like a river to flow where they will, then they will always take the path of least resistance. But it you want sharp thoughts, then you must grind your thoughts against truth, reality and a better tomorrow. If you want sharp thoughts, then you better find a grind stone. Who or what is sharpening your thoughts?
2. Think Forward. The world is moving. The world is moving faster. It won’t stop for you. You can’t call a timeout or hit the pause button. If you don’t have a vision, then you don’t really know why you are going where you are going. A vision provides the reason to move. A goal sets the direction of how and when to move.
3. Think Cool. This really means getting your thinking off yourself and on to others. The Apostle Paul said, “I become all things to all men, in order to reach some” (paraphrase, 1 Corinthians 9:22). Trends are simply movement. If you want to figure out why people are thinking the way they are, then you must understand them. You don’t have to love or live the trends to follow them.
4. Think Shared Ownership. This is really a stewardship mindset. Your thoughts must land on personal responsibility. If your thoughts lead you to dismissive or dissociative behavior, you are thinking like a renter and not an owner. Ownership is one of the most powerful elements an organization, a relationship or a business can have in the thought processes of its people. When you take ownership of your marriage, you take responsibility for making it better. Owners want profit. The question is how profitable are your thoughts? Are they paying dividends or dead-ends? 

Your thoughts only matter if your results matter. Better results flow from better thinking. Test your thoughts against trusted sources and trust people. This is where good thoughts become great.

“…whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.“

Philippians 4:8