Tag Thoughts

Powerful Thoughts 

Steve Keating 4 Comments

It’s likely that the most powerful thing you possess are your thoughts. You may believe that you are in control of your life but that’s not exactly true. Your thoughts are in control of your life and it is anything but certain that you’re in control of your thoughts. 

Most people don’t give their thoughts a thought. Most people never think about what they are thinking. Almost no one stops long enough to think about where their thoughts originate. 

If you really want to be in control of your life then you need to be in control of your thoughts. You can’t do that until you understand that your thoughts originate with what you allow to enter your brain. 

What are your information sources? Who are you hanging around with and listening to? 

As I write this post I’ve just “learned” that it’s not actually Russian forces that are attacking Ukraine. The Russian government is allowing US Military forces to invade Ukraine so they can destroy the evidence that Joe Biden blackmailed the Ukrainian President. 

There are people who actually believe that crap. Now I’m no psychologist (no fan of Joe Biden either) but if you’re one of the people who believe stuff like that then you’re either a wacko (not an official medical term) or you’ve allowed so much garbage to enter your brain that you can no longer separate fact from fiction. 

The thoughts you allow into your head will shape the outcomes of your life. Yes, you need to know that there is misinformation out there. The only way to know that is to allow it into your head. BUT, you need a balance of information. You need to listen to things that you agree with and things that you don’t. 

Then you need to do something that appears to be increasingly difficult…you need to apply logic to the information you’ve heard. 

Matthew Taylor Coleman was unable to do that. He was just a typical dad with a loving wife and two adorable kids. He began listening to a bunch of conspiracy podcasts, filling his head with more garbage everyday. He listened long enough that he became convinced that he must kill his kids to rid the world of their “serpent DNA.” 

He was a normal guy, an average American who completely lost control of his thoughts. 

Clearly, that is an extreme case. Most of us will never come anywhere near that. But most of us will allow our thoughts, created by who knows what information, to shape our lives without giving those thoughts a second thought. 

Who and what are you allowing to influence your thoughts? Are you allowing a balance of information? Are you making sure the negative stuff doesn’t outweigh the positive stuff? Do you have a source of truth in your life that you can use to filter the information that your brain is exposed to? 

The most successful, happiest and healthiest people consider the origins of their thoughts. Think about that and then think about that. 

Is Your Boss an Idiot?

Steve Keating 6 Comments

Let me answer that question for you right upfront. NO! Your boss is not an idiot.

That doesn’t mean that you may not have some issues with your boss. You would however do well to know that thinking your boss is an idiot is likely causing a good many of those issues.

Our thoughts tend to drive our behaviors and thinking your boss is an idiot will lead you to interact with them in less than a respectful way. You may also think that your boss doesn’t deserve respect but you’d be mistaken about that too.

Think about this for a minute…for your boss to actually be an idiot that you mean that the people in the organization above your boss are idiots too. I mean clearly, only an idiot would make another idiot a boss. Exactly how many idiots do you think work at your organization?

If your organization is truly full of idiots then why are you working there? Unless….

So get that ugly, limiting thinking out of your head. Just like every other human on the planet your boss has a set of strengths. Someone saw them and put your boss in a position of leadership so that those strengths could be put to use.

Your role should not be to focus on the limitations that your boss has (yep, they have limitations for the very same reasons they have strengths, they are human) but to help them apply their strengths.

Those limitations cause gaps and if you want your work and life to be more enjoyable and meaningful then you should focus on using your own strengths to help fill those gaps.

Anybody can find a weakness in others because everybody has gaps. That most certainly does not make everybody an idiot. If it did then almost all of us would be fighting for a spot at the front of the idiot line.

Your thoughts are no small thing. They determine your actions. If you’re thinking that your boss, or anyone else for that matter is an idiot then you are limiting your ability to learn from them. Whatever shortcomings someone may possess they know something that you don’t. That means you can learn from them.

Open your mind and look a little closer at your boss. Look for their strengths. Try to see them the way their boss sees them. Look for the good in them. Help them use their strengths by stepping up and filling their gaps. Use your strengths to fill them.

People who struggle to work well with their boss get noticed in a negative way. People who help people use their strengths get noticed in a positive way. If you worry less about who gets “credit” and think more in terms of a team success your own success will increase along with the team.

Think about it.