Oh, the thinks you can think!

Teri Karjala //October 23, 2013//

Oh, the thinks you can think!

Teri Karjala //October 23, 2013//

Recently, while reading Dr. Seuss’ Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!, it occurred to me that it had powerful business applications.

Positive thoughts are key in growing the business and life of our dreams. Where are you giving your attention? How are you responding when things may not appear to be going your way? What choices are you making to move yourself forward?

Earl Nightingale said, “We become what we think about most of the time, and that’s the strangest secret.”

How much time are you spending on the things that you do want? So often, people come into our offices unaware of the fact that they are spending the majority of their time thinking about the negative aspects of their lives instead of looking at the gifts and focusing on what they do want.

Henry Ford put it another way: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.”

Simply put, if you don’t believe that you can, you won’t. Conversely, if you believe you can, you will. It may sound cliché or trite, but it’s been proven through the ages: Think and dream big and put your attention on the positive and life will embrace your vision.

I have embarked upon a mission to completely eliminate the words “I can’t” from my vocabulary and to support others doing the same. I have always been a positive person but until bringing this into the forefront of my consciousness I hadn’t realized how much of a default the phrase, “I can’t” was.

On a recent trip to visit family members, the obvious differences in my thinking from my relatives became apparent. In a nutshell, the scene was awash in limitations and negative discussion. The “anything is possible” attitude felt lost. 

It was a challenge, but I practiced, repeatedly, what I am preaching – and it worked. My resolve kept my head, my spirits and the ensuing results of business and life circumstances – post-trip – in tact.

Keep in mind that you don’t need to know how your dreams and aspirations are going to happen; you just know what you do want and develop a fierce belief that it is going to happen.

It also helps to surround yourself with positive, can-do people to help cultivate an attitude of inspiration and motivation. Jim Rohn says, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” As business owners, we want to be an example to those around us. People mimic and mirror feelings and actions of their peers subconsciously. So it is also important to examine how you show up to others.

Consistent forward, can-do thinking not only enriches your life and those around you, the practice transcends present circumstances and almost mystically brings forth unexpected bounty, gifts and greatness the ego and the intellect could never imagine. Here are a few tips to support the Thinks You Think practice:

  • Make a list of your big dreams. Spend five to ten minutes coming up with the things you want to do, be and have. The sky is the limit.
  • From that list identify which ones are the highest on your belief scale, how much you believe that you can achieve it.
  • Start surrounding yourself with reminders of the things you want. Spend time thinking of those things.
  • Spend time imagining what it would feel like if your goal had already been achieved. This will help you get into alignment with the “law of attraction.”

A well-known declaration on the power of productive thinking comes from author and lecturer, Dr. Wayne Dyer: “Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.”

Think differently. You’ll be surprised at the way things (almost magically) change.