Vibrant Individuals Think!

by Nicole Greer, PPCC

Let’s call her "Sue.”

Sue confessed to me that she wanted to be a leader in her organization.?She experienced some shame in this ideal since the boss she had in the last role treated her so badly. That leader really made her question her strengths, talents, skills, aptitude, and capacity to learn.?Deep inside her, in her soul, was a belief, “I have potential”.?

It bubbled up from her soul into her heart.?

On occasion,?if she allowed it,?the thought even made its way into her mind where she was courageous enough to entertain it.

In her mind, Sue thought a promotion was possible for her and, most importantly, that she deserved a promotion.?While she knew this was true in her mind, heart and soul, there was another thought that swirled around in her head. This thought told her that she was being risky, na?ve, and a glutton for punishment.?All of these thoughts fought for her attention, her imagination, and ultimately for her energy.?

Everybody has six energies that allow us to take action toward our ideals.?

These energies are: intellectual, emotional, spiritual, physical, social and financial energy.?Our thought life drives our ability to engage these six energies appropriately.?Having systems, strategies, and smarts in place to control your thought life is of vital importance.?

Imagine a life controlled by thoughts that deal with what is possible.?

Imagine a thought life that can take what is possible and turn it into something probable.?Imagine your life lived each day this way.?

What would that be like??

Perhaps, you'd finally think courageous thoughts that led to bold action in service to your ideals that are seated deep in your soul.

That's what Sue did.

She began to think about her thoughts. She started practicing metacognition. According to Nancy Chick, the Assistant Director at the Center for Teaching at Vanderbilt University,?

"Metacognition is, put simply, thinking about one’s thinking.?More precisely, it refers to the processes used to plan, monitor, and assess one’s understanding and performance. Metacognition includes a critical awareness of a) one’s thinking and learning and b) oneself as a thinker and learner."

Sue created a plan so she could think about how she thinks. She monitored the plan. And she assessed her understanding and performance based on her thought life.?In this system, she began to unravel her thought life so that she could choose how to think and engage her energies rather than simply allow her thought life to hold her back from all that she believed and could achieve.?

Would you like to do metacognition so you can live a vibrant life?

Let's get started.

The System

Journaling

Each and every day you start your day in the quiet.?Journal your thoughts. Don't journal to get the words "right." Instead just journal what comes to you. This is called, free writing. There is no editing. No holding back. Grammar does not count. No one but you is to read these words.?You simply allow yourself to think onto paper.

Each and every night, you end your day in quiet. Read over your morning journal entry. Reflect on it in light of your day.?Journal again in the free writing mode. Again, there are no rules. Quality and quantity are not even considered.?You simply come to the paper to think. Think, capture, and conclude when you feel you're done. That's it.

Continue this process observing what you think, when you think it, and, most importantly, what you are learning about your thought life. Journaling will create a coveted state of mind called consciousness.?You'll start to know what you think!?

The Strategies

Core Values

After a period of three weeks, re-read your journal entries looking for core values in your journaling.?Core values are principles, ideals, and concepts that you believe at a cellular level.?These beliefs are hard wired in you. They act as a guiding light that illuminates where your energy needs to be plugged in. If you would like a complete list of core values, don't hesitate to email me at?[email protected].

The Smarts!

Get a sense of urgency.?The old adage is true. You only have one life to live. Your days are numbered. You've got only one shot at this life. Let's get started! Start by thinking about how you are thinking!