We often hear about how important it is to take some time to think. When working with the Leaders I coach, I have realized even more how beneficial this seemingly simple act is. They are all very busy, and finding a neutral-thinking partner is often difficult, particularly in very senior roles. So what happens when you actually take the time to think?
Episode 1 – You see issues more clearly.
Taking a step back and thinking out loud or silently in your head (whatever your preference), makes you see issues from different perspectives and can make you realize aspects of the issue you had not seen, understand someone else’s concern better, or link the different pieces together to make a bigger picture and look at the situation as a whole.
The mere fact of stopping our busyness frees up space in our brains. New ideas come when we have space to think about them. It’s hard to think clearly when you are always too busy putting out fires. Providing yourself the headspace to think allows for ideas to come up.
When you stop and think, it is easier to see an issue from a distance, as if it was happening to someone else. I often ask people how someone else who would be watching the situation from a distance would see it. You can almost see the movie in front of your eyes, and feel personally less involved. Being neutral allows you to make more rational decisions and think before you take action.
Episode 4 – Having less regrets.
Stopping to think about important decisions, for example, and not rushing into them, often saves you from having regrets afterward. Taking the time to carefully consider the implications of your decision, will give you more of a sense of control and choice.
When you stop to think about something and give yourself the time to consider the different options that are there for you, it allows you to choose. When you act with choice, it feels very different than if you feel you had no choice but to do something. And the feeling of not being in control of one’s time/life is an important factor in generating stress and burnout.
Episode 6 – Get access to your own skills/knowledge.
When we are very busy, we often just jump into the next thing as quickly as we can, without much thought. When we stop and think about how we actually will do something, we sometimes remember valuable resources we had but just hadn’t thought about them. Particularly when we are under stress, we tend to throw away the life-saving devices that we have.
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