Binge Thinking

Watch Your Thinking - Andy Gilbert

“Who is to blame for the economic recession?” and “How long will it go on for?” appear to be common, yet wasteful, questions in the minds of many at present. Perpetuated by the press and popularised by the masses - who could be using their minds to find solutions and ways forward - these type of questions serve to illustrate the low quality, problem focused thinking that permeates our society.

The quality of our thoughts (questions, statements, recalled memories and our imagination) will determine the actions we take and inevitably the results we achieve. So, in comparison to spending 10 minutes answering the above two questions, what if we were to consider an equal amount of time focusing on answers to higher quality questions?

“What opportunities does the current economic situation possibly offer us?”
“Who could possibly help us move forward in overcoming the obstacles we face?”

Leaders need to take responsibility for their thoughts not just their actions. Designing questions to help ourselves or others with their thinking is a skill that many take for granted and fail to assess their own competence. We have all been on the receiving end of a great question designed to help us think – usually indicated by the response, “Good question,” followed by a reflective pause. The subsequent thoughts that go through our mind will influence our actions and the achievement of our goals.

Rather than focus on what actions to take, we should be focusing on what questions will cause the most helpful thinking. Coupled with this are the statements we make (either internally or to others) about the current or future situation. The words we say will either help or hinder the progress of ourselves and the people we are seeking to help move forward.

Leaders have the potential to change minds. Let’s improve the probability of doing that by considering a solution focused thinking approach. Higher quality actions and results will surely follow.