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If you want to
change your life, you need to know yourself in order to know what needs
changing. Becoming more aware of how
you think empowers you to build on your areas of strength as well as finding
areas where you might like to make improvements. Self awareness
is so important that most life coaches believe it is the fundamental building block for
change. So, to develop your spiritual
thinking abilities, a critical first step is to become aware how you
currently think. 1.1: Become aware of your thinking For many of
us, we take our thinking for granted and pay little attention to it. Instead
of making a deliberate effort to direct the mental traffic in our heads, many
of us simply follow the thinking of others or let our emotions guide our
actions. Use the following questions and thinklets to help build awareness of
your thinking. 1.2: Assess ways to improve your thinking Once you know
how you think, you become empowered to find ways to improve it. A powerful and easy way is to acquire a
questioning mindset. Asking questions
gives our mind the best chance to succeed as effective thinkers. |
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Mindfulness is being conscious
of what you are doing … while you are doing it. It is about putting yourself in the present
moment so you can spend a few minutes observing and contemplating what’s
happening. Putting yourself in the present gives you a different level of
awareness and frees you to take conscious actions rather than simply making
an emotional response. 2.1: Develop
a personal mindfulness and contemplation Most of us don’t pay much
attention to our thinking patterns. Instead of making a deliberate effort to
direct the mental traffic in our heads, we pretty much leave it to chance and
autopilot thinking. Mindfulness and contemplation is about stopping at any
given moment and taking a quick reading of your current reality. This gives
your mind the mental input and time needed to engage consciously and
thoughtfully as the current event unfolds. 2.2: Develop a collective mindfulness As the world gets more
connected, a collective mindfulness becomes more essential. The ability to
work and think collaboratively enables
us to leverage our collective knowledge, ideas, and wisdom for the betterment
of all. |
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In today’s world, facts
can easily become distorted, false facts created, and opinions become truth.
A truly important spiritual thinking skill is acquiring valid information.
Your thinking will do little good if the data and information you have is
incomplete, inaccurate, distorted, misunderstood or completely false. 3.1: Correctly frame the situation The purpose of this
thinking task is to maximize the likelihood of identifying (and solving) the
correct problem. In general, there is a normal human tendency to force-fit
situations/problems into preconceived models. This task helps overcome fixed
mindsets. 3.2: Acquire truthful information There is a positive
correlation between thinkers who develop more and better ideas/solutions with
those that have obtained relevant and accurate background knowledge. 3.3: Understand the wholeness of every situation Systems
and Futures thinking are other keys to conscious spiritual thinking because
once we understand the dynamics of larger living wholes,
we become more aware of what is emerging. And once we see what’s emerging,
our thinking and actions will dramatically improve. |
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Typically when
we develop ideas and solutions, we tend to take the first one. Spiritual
thinking looks at the whole and overcomes that tendency by developing a large
pool of ideas to consider. The chances
of finding a truly great “sustainable” idea are dramatically increased with
this approach. 4.1: Develop creative ideas The importance
of developing creative ideas is that one idea (even if it’s bad) can lead to
a brilliant idea. Creative ideas also range from something small to something
radical. This offers a full spectrum of ideas to choose from. 4.2: Develop scenarios and futures ideas The future can no longer be ignored. We all must anticipate the
future and proactively prepare for it. We need to consciously develop futures
ideas so we can determine what actions need to be taken today … to better
prepare for our future. 4.3: Turn ideas into innovative solutions It’s fairly easy to develop creative ideas. The hard part is
turning them into innovations that have value and are “implementable.”
Synthesis is powerful spiritual thinking skill that can help you do this. |
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We
don’t live in isolation. Our decisions and actions now have far greater
impact because of our inter-connectedness. Today’s decisions and actions are
only as good (even if correct), as they can be successfully executed without
creating more harm than good. 5.1: Predict consequences and make spiritual decision Be conscious of your
decision-making habits is essential.
It does little good if your best idea/solution is discarded because
fixed decision-making habits takeover. Industrial age Either/Or decision
making needs to give way to Both/And decision making. 5.2: Take spiritual action to implement your decision After you have made your
decision you will need to outline a plan of action for implementing the
idea/solution you selected. For many people taking action can be much harder
than thinking. 5.3: Listen for feedback A spiritual thinker does
not fear imperfect solutions. They know that all solutions can and will be
continuously revised and improved. |