Get your think on
“Five percent of the people think;
ten percent of the people think they think;
and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think.”
How much of your time do you spend thinking?
Not the type of thinking that includes what to put on your shopping list or where to go on holiday but the type where you stop to really observe and question your thoughts.
Like the famous Greek philosophers Aristotle, Socrates and Plato.
If the answer is “not very much”, you’re not alone.
Modern life moves at a breakneck pace.
We work long hours, and when we do have some free time, we also find many electronic devices competing for our attention.
It can be too easy to find ourselves being carried along like sticks in a stream.
For example, how often have you heard someone say, “I’m so busy I can’t think straight”?
So how can you give yourself the opportunity to properly think?
One solution is to set aside some time solely for this purpose.
Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, likes to take a “think week” twice a year.
He goes alone to a cabin in the woods with only a tote bag full of books, a notebook and a pen.
There, he is physically removed from the normal interruptions of daily life and can slow his mind down.
Gates says he often has his best ideas during these trips and greatly looks forward to them.
Spending time alone gives the mind a chance to reflect and make new connections.
It can lead to breakthrough insights into ourselves and the work we do.
Perhaps it’s time for you to spend some dedicated thinking time and experience the benefits?
P.S. If you want to learn more about how Bill Gates thinks and have a Netflix subscription, it’s well worth watching the documentary Inside Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates.
