JOIN USThe vortex of technology and social life can be absorbing. In addition, there is much to be accomplished on a constant basis in a dog-eat-dog world. It is no exaggeration that one is consistently moving just to stay in the same place in an evolved world.
Scurrying past, running around, prodding ahead, rushing at neck-break speed and the likes of a hurried demeanour are the order of the day. And these are the perceived indicators of importance and significance of a person.
Yet, there is a paradox, in this deceptive belief, if authorities of human behaviour are to be taken seriously. For, research has verified that constant action without corresponding thinking is by no means an effective way to conduct our lives. On the contrary, such a lifestyle is a one-way ticket to fatigue, boredom and listlessness to life.
“Make the time to think,” exhorts author Robin Sharma in his book, The Greatness Guide. He supports his philosophy by citing the example of a very successful businessman, who spends at least 45 minutes every morning with his eyes closed, deep in reflection, thinking.
“He is not meditating, he is not praying, he is thinking. Sometimes he’s analysing business challenges. Other times he’s thinking about new markets. Still other times he’s being introspective on the meaning of his life and what he wants it to stand for.
Often, he’s simply dreaming up new ways to grow personally and professionally. Every once in a while, he’ll spend between six and eight hours doing this. Sitting silently. Still. With his eyes closed. Thinking,” he writes urging his readers to engage in thinking for personal and professional growth.
Bernard Shaw, the Nobel Laureate, put forth this very idea thus, “Few people think more than two or three times a year. I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a week.”
Distributing some of our action time into thinking time is hence a superb strategy in building self-awareness, bringing into focus the areas of our lives that need improvements and channelising our energy more productively.
Making the time to think in solitude, deriving pleasure and purpose from it, will prove to be a rewarding practice. Finding a quiet place and losing ourselves in quiet reflection should, therefore, form a part of our daily routine.
For, as A A Milne, the famous creator of Winne-the-Pooh wrote, “The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority; the second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.”