Think Big to See a World of Possibilities

Be Your Own Drone!

Source: © ValentinValkov/Adobestock

In today’s environment of accelerated change, smart is not enough. Being conscious is the new smart. Being conscious provides the road map to help you adapt, transform, and accelerate into the future–a new approach for living and leading.

Our research has found that the most successful people and leaders follow four powerful practices of being conscious: "Go Deep" harnesses the power of introspection; "Think Big" helps us see a world of possibilities; "Get Real" allows us to tap our accelerators and manage our hijackers; and "Step Up" enables us to act boldly and responsibly.

Here’s more on Think Big, the second of the four practices and how it can help us become more conscious in all aspects of our lives.

THINK BIG

To see the future as a world of possibility, you first need to overcome the pitfalls of being too narrow. You have to expand your mind, tap into your creativity, and embrace adaptive and innovative thinking.

Ironically, technology has made the ability to Think Big harder. In today’s 280-character universe, we’re bombarded by a plethora of disparate digital information we can’t process. Consider this: According to University of Virginia researcher Timothy Wilson, the brain can absorb about eleven million pieces of information a second, but can only consciously process about forty. In addition, while we have instant digital access to information, we also tend to suffer from tunnel vision, seeing only things we agree with.

But the ability to rise above the din and view the bigger picture is more important than ever in our disrupting, accelerating world. That means you need, in effect, to become your own drone, finding ways to peer over the horizon. If you’re capable of rising above yourself to see the bigger picture, you’ll be able to view emotions, events, and relationships as data that can inform how you make your next best move.

At the same time, be careful not to fall into the cognitive tendency to be overly optimistic–a bias that only becomes more pronounced as we move up the corporate ladder. In one study of over 3,600 leaders, those in higher up roles were more likely than others to overestimate their level of skill for 19 out of 20 competencies.

There also are tools you can employ to Think Big. For example, you can learn how to leverage your most valuable asset, your personal ecosystem. Like the physical world, where everything is interdependent, your personal ecosystem is connected too, and includes three elements:

1. Your personal brand. We are all entrepreneurs, leading our own brand, complete with our personal values and career aspirations, intellectual and emotional assets, and unique market differentiators.
2. Your positive relationships. Having strong trusted bonds with a wide range of people involves four powerful social ingredients–empathy, fairness, communication, and appreciation of others.
3. Your networks. They could be drawn from anywhere from your suppliers to your church to your child’s soccer matches. In any case, people who consciously invest in and grow their networks stand out in the crowd.

The need to learn faster, expand our minds, and rewire our brains for growth is the personal and economic imperative for living in the 21st century. Thus, the real challenge today is to stay relevant and learn how to learn, to develop a Google mind–the ability for the brain to continuously refresh itself.

This capacity requires a growth mindset. At Healthy Companies, we conducted a project with the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia to figure out how great leaders succeeded in today’s accelerating world. The big differentiator between success and mediocrity was whether people saw broader opportunities, were comfortable with ambiguity, and viewed life as a journey of continuous learning, or shied away from new experiences and focused on avoiding making mistakes.

A complex world also requires a complex mind. Simple "either-or" thinking doesn’t cut it anymore. Conscious people create more choices by holding opposing ideas in their heads at the same time. In addition, they value the diversity around them. Tapping into the power of inclusion is good for expanding your mind and it’s good for business. Ultimately, it’s all about approaching the world with open eyes, experimenting with fresh ideas, and letting go of counter-productive preconceptions.

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TIPS FOR CONSCIOUS LIVING:

1. Take time to reflect. To get up on the balcony, you need to create space to slow down and think. What gets scheduled gets done, so schedule some time to get up on the balcony.
2. Practice being an observer and a participant at the same time. How are you showing up in a meeting? What are the dynamics of the group? Observe yourself and then join the conversation as you make real-time adjustments to your behavior.
3. Look for patterns and themes that help you see connections. Get out of the details and look at the bigger picture–see problems from different vantage points.