The last post on conditioning focussed mostly on actions – things that we do. The same conditioning concept works when we begin to look at the way we think – our thought habits.
Much of the ways in which we think about the world, our work, other people and ourselves have been developed subconsciously – conditioned – over years without us really evaluating whether the attitudes we have are the attitudes we want to have, or ones that line up with our values.
In the same way that new action habits can be developed over time through repeated practice, new attitudes – ways of thinking – can also be developed.
One of the things I especially enjoy about the LMI approach to developing people is the focus on the total person, not just ‘getting business results’. The truth being that developing well-balanced people with inner confidence and a positive self-image is THE best way to achieving long term business (& the rest of life) results anyway!
What new thought habit do you want to develop?
Let’s take by way of example, ‘developing a positive expectancy for each day’.
How do I go about making this a habit?
You could start by writing some positive statements about the possibilities and opportunities that each day can bring, or even finding a song or poem that really lifts your spirits? If you read those statements and listen to that song every morning, and choose to focus your thoughts on the positive outcomes you expect for the day rather than negative ones – rehearsing successes rather than failures of the past – the conditioning process begins to work its magic and guess what? You begin to develop a greater sense of positive expectancy each day, and life feels just that little bit better!
“Choice is both a talent and a responsibility” (Paul J. Meyer, Effective Personal Leadership)
We all have within us the possibility to take responsibility and develop the talent for making good choices when it comes to the way we think!
Nick Howes 