Chapter 8: Thinking Systems For Success – Planning Positive Future
Progress in human life is typically constituted of overcoming challenges and hurdles in life. Therefore, for one to succeed, they must solve the challenges and problems they face personally in their lives as well as in the external environment. There is a need to engage with the environment, which is highly influenced by the ability of the subject individual to think and assess the current climate, their capacity, and subsequently come up with solutions.
However, the challenge to this approach is the natural predisposition of human beings to using shortcuts. Every time there is an alternative (quick, cheap, and easy) way to achieve something, people typically adopt it. This negatively affects their ability to think outside the box and come up with solutions as well.
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The underlying basis of success in the short, medium, and longterm is developing good habits deliberately aimed at achieving success. However, good practices constitute more than just having a checklist lifted from a book. Instead, it is about nurturing and developing winning systems that become natural to you (second nature) and work towards the targeted goals of success.
However, coming up with the right systems, thinking to overcome challenges and achieve success is not straight forward because of the unpredictability, volatility, ambiguity, and complexity of the world. Overcoming the uncertainty of life cannot be achieved by gaining more control. Instead, developing agility, increased speed of learning accelerated thinking, innovation, and creativity will allow one to adapt and adjust every time the inevitable evolutions and changes occur.
Some of the significant areas of systems thinking and planning for success are discussed below.
Addressing Failure
In the pursuit of success, failure is often experienced. Most of the people that have succeeded in life have experienced different types of failure at various points of their life and the process of success. Therefore, there is considerable value in paying attention to the people that have succeeded and turned their lives into a success story.
In many cases, successful people are just like us. They have experienced many failures. The difference is that they kept working on their ideas, refining the process until they finally succeeded.
Success is typically achieved through the application of precise and detailed systems that are subsequently followed strictly and the same way every time. However, this approach to systems thinking faces the challenge of a continually evolving and changing external environment. This means that the approach adopted by one individual to achieve success might not be as effective for another individual because they will be facing different external environment dynamics.
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However, it is essential to realize that the way we choose to address and complete a task is often the most difficult. As a result, this highlights the need to pause and reflect on the tasks at hand, objectives, and then choose the most effective way to achieve targets efficiently. People don’t immediately identify the most efficient methods and ways to accomplish the same work. This underscores the need for reflection and deep thought in designing the best way forward to optimize not only performance but also reward.
Moreover, it is paramount to always be on the lookout for ways to improve performance, including through creativity and innovation. Experimentation and tinkering are a crucial part of this process because it allows you to determine the methods to finish the job and accomplish great work as well.
Developing A Winning Formula
The winning formula refers to the approach adopted by an individual to gain success in the targeted areas of life or business. In many cases, a winning method begins with positive thinking.
There is a need to adopt a positive attitude towards both the methods adopted as well as the objectives of the project. This way, you place yourself in a mentality that seeks to solve problems, innovate, and create ways to success as opposed to negative thinking that picks out the potential problems and therefore tones down the enthusiasm required to succeed. A positive thinking approach and attitude also rub off on the surrounding people. This helps create a motivated, targeted, and precise approach and environment that bolsters the chances of success.
Additionally, a winning formula is typically precise and targeted. This narrows down the areas of focus, which is essential in enhancing creativity and innovation to increase the chances of success. Doing things in the right way is also a fundamental aspect of achieving success.
In many ways, “the right way” includes treating others positively, encouraging and motivating others, and seeing the best in the opportunities and even challenges. Therefore, positive thinking helps establish an overall environment that supports and drives success at an individual and collective level.
Establishing Your Systems
Developing a personalized system for thinking, planning, and innovating is crucial in bringing you closer to your goals. This requires a deep insight into and understanding of self as well as identifying how to shape and coach yourself regarding your approach to life. This includes getting rid of your daily inner conversations of negative thoughts and worries and replacing them with positive thinking.
The target here is making things as easy as possible for yourself while also ensuring that you accomplish your responsibilities and goals. Therefore, it is vital to give yourself the luxury of thinking about how you can do things in a better way. Some of the means of developing and sustaining a winning system are discussed below.
Understanding And Assessing Your Process
It is essential to understand your thinking system before you can go about fixing it. This allows you to establish an overall and deep understanding of your strengths and weaknesses, as well as how you operate.
Spending time to get to know yourself is a crucial step in establishing your position in the thinking system. Evaluating your process is important as well. For example, if you are staying up until 1 a.m. it could mean that you do not have enough sleep and thus having trouble getting up.
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Therefore, self-assessment will allow you to understand the aspects that are working and contributing towards your success as well as those that are holding you back. The resulting priority will enhance your capacity to succeed.
Studying Others And Their Actions
Researching what other people are doing is essential in shaping and developing both your thinking system as well as progress towards success. Therefore, whether it is a mentor, someone you admire, or an individual that is famously successful, it is important to find how they do things. Learn some crucial lessons of their thinking systems, approaches, attitudes, behavior, and mentalities as well.
There is nothing wrong with using what is already available to achieve success. If you can utilize someone else’s thinking system or positive thinking to achieve success, then go for it. Moreover, you can tweak what you need to fit your specific needs as well as the prevailing external environment to optimize the chances of achieving success.
Anticipating Challenges
Hurdles and challenges typically characterize the road to success. Therefore, the ability to surmount some of these difficulties is the marker of success. Challenges that are anticipated are often half-solved. This means that if you see a problem coming, it is easier to prepare and come up with a solution compared to when a problem surprises you.
This underscores the importance of anticipating challenges. Developing the foresight of understanding the medium to longterm future is important. It is also essential to establish the implications of such dynamism. It places you at a very advantageous position to surmount such difficulties.
Aside from the preparatory advantages, such anticipation allows you to change and adapt in a manner that not only avoids the negative effects of change. It also harnesses such change forces and turns them into a value-creating opportunity.
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Adaptability and flexibility are remarkable because change is constant. Without agility, the capacity to sustain success is diminished. This is because the external environment is continually changing, and thus demanding that individuals adapt their approach to achieving success. It is also essential to maintain honesty and openness with yourself to recognize and admit where your process breaks down. Making attempts, even when you experience failure, is crucial to build systems for success and ultimately succeed.
