One of the books that I’m reading now is ‘The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth’ by John C. Maxwell. He promises that if we LIVE these laws we will reach our potential. It is therefore not just a book to be read through but one where you must find time to contemplate the ideas offered, let them simmer and then determine which ones will serve you best in your own evolution.
On page 55 he says “In my book Thinking for a Change, I encourage people to identify or create a thinking place.”
I have a place where I sit, read, journal and reflect EVERY morning. In Trinidad it’s on a couch downstairs in a little TV room and in Tobago it’s on a Poang chair in the home office. I always kick off with some tea :), read through a short passage and then make notes in my journal. Many things surface for me once I begin contemplation:
- Fears that I might have
- Anxiety that I may be feeling about an upcoming meeting or pending project
- Ideas for my newspaper columns
- Quotes that I feel will be helpful to me and to my Facebook friends both on my personal page and on my business page and that require further contemplation
I never called my space a ‘thinking place’ but I guess it is.
More importantly I feel that you too need to identify a place that you could go to on a daily basis for the purpose of solely thinking deeply in the present moment about your life. Why do you need a place?
Johns says “Did I do that (suggest that you create a thinking place) because there is some magic in having a designated place to pause and think? No. I did it because if you go to the trouble to create a place to pause and think and you schedule the time to go there, you will probably actually use it. And you will benefit from it.”
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