On Thought Management….

It was the time ...

when Williams Gates III, better known as Bill Gates, was just a kid. One day, his mother saw him brooding over something and asked him casually, “What are you doing, Bill?” The little Bill shot back, “I am thinking, Mom... Have you ever tried thinking?” Some may see arrogance in this reply, but I do feel that the boy had asked a valid question. Do we really ever think about the way we think?

A salaried person takes stock of his/her earnings and expenses by end of each month. He/she also sets up the budget for next month. A business-person keeps a daily account of sales achieved and targets for future.
Those more serious about their career and profession do the same with their time… they note down the hours worked on a project/task, and set aside time for entertainment, family and social matters.

All this is indeed very important and it certainly helps.

The point is:

Why not apply the same technique to our thoughts as well?

If we note down the issues we think of every day, the number turns out to be a huge one, but most of the topics are highly mundane. We literally waste the enormous power that we are endowed with.

First of all,

how much of our thinking is ‘actionable’ thinking? For example: we look at the photos of hunks like Hritik or Salman and think:” Wow, what a body…” But unless and until we convert such kind of though into an action-oriented thought like: “Hmm, I will join the gym from tomorrow”, it doesn’t help us at all.

Next point is...

“Looped Thinking”. I have been planning to do some saving for last six months. But whenever I begin to think of that topic, I go through same motions each time and end up at the same point. Thoughts should be like building-blocks. We should build upon our previous thoughts, rather than going through the same cycles, time & again.

How about...

treating our thoughts as tangible entities, just like money & time? Our attitude needs to be like: This week I will think of these matters and reach some conclusion, by week-end I will clear up these pending thoughts and not waste my time on them again, I will start thinking about these new ideas…..

Sure, this will not be easy at first.

We might feel like wandering off into our own free-wheeling ways. But as Buddha has said, “Our thoughts are our destiny.” A close look at most of the highly successful persons reveals that not only do they manage their time and money wisely; they pay an equal attention to their thought-processes as well.