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Peter Avergun's avatar

You've written a very nice piece. I'm thinking you may have missed one key element: Personal Quiet Thinking Time.

Are you worth 15 private minutes to jump start your day?

When people hear the words quiet thinking time, they picture a monk sitting cross-legged on a mountaintop.

That's wonderful...

if you happen to own a mountain.

I'm talking about five to 15 intentional minutes.

Five minutes before the world begins making demands on you.

Five minutes to remind yourself that you're the pilot—not the passenger.

Quiet thinking isn't about emptying your mind.

It's about aiming it.

It's the daily pause that separates purposeful people from accidental people.

It's where momentum begins.

It's where direction replaces distraction.

When you visualize your #1 goal, it's where the fuse gets lit to achieve your BURNING DESIRE.

The purpose of Quiet Thinking Time isn't to add another task to your day. It's to make every other task more intentional.

"OK, dude, but how EXACTLY do I start?"

Excellent question.

By tuning the guitar before the concert…

With gratitude.

Always gratitude.

Not because gratitude is trendy.

Because gratitude tunes your instrument before the concert.

Gratitude does three things:

It makes you think about positive things.

It chemically adjusts your mindset.

It restarts your personal modem.

No musician walks on stage without tuning their guitar.

Why would you expect your brain to perform all day without tuning your mind?

This is how my system operates (but you’ll need to design your own system retaining these principles):

Before I climb on my bicycle each morning at dawn, for my 25-minute Quiet Thinking Time Ride, I begin by giving thanks.

For another sunrise.

For my family.

For my health.

For clean water.

Electricity.

Friends.

Coffee.

The ability to ride.

The opportunity to create.

At first, it feels intentional.

Then something interesting happens.

Around the tenth or twentieth blessing...

your mind changes channels.

It stops looking for what's wrong...

and starts noticing what's possible.

Now your engine is warm.

Now your guitar is in tune.

Now it's time to light the fuse.

SUGGESTION:

If you're just beginning, don't overcomplicate it.

Write down ten things you're grateful for.

By the time you reach number ten, you'll probably think of twenty more.

Gratitude works like a snowball rolling downhill.

It gathers speed.

It gathers momentum.

And somewhere during that process you may notice that one thought keeps knocking on your mental front door.

Pay attention when that happens.

That recurring thought may be pointing toward your next mission.

THEN…AFTER GRATITUDE…

Give Your Brain One Job

Don't overload yourself.

Don't make a list of seventeen goals.

Give your subconscious one assignment.

One challenge.

One opportunity.

One question worthy of its attention.

Not the solution.

Just the destination.

Your conscious mind is limited.

Your subconscious has an entire encyclopedia instead of just a single page.

Don't handcuff your greatest partner by insisting that it solve the problem your way.

Tell it where you want it to go.

Then, let IT drive.

Remember to CAPTURE any significant thoughts in writing or you will mysteriously lose them like a sock coming out of the dryer.

When you do this every day, you've given yourself a clear starting line for the day and positive inertia that puts you in motion.

Asymmetric/Edge Dana Dobrescu's avatar

This is a great approach for the people who are not keen on taking big risks or who are afraid to dream big, or who are to self-aware of the limitations. I really love this alternative framework!