Think differently or die

think-differently-or-die

Sounds dramatic – but it’s an emerging everyday reality.

If we’re stuck in our thinking, we’ll never find the new solutions. And not being open to learning, ultimately stunts our growth.

Eventually, we become an irrelevance. Or even worse, we walk over a precipice of our own making.

And that’s ugly.

Instead, let’s recognise that the thinking that got us here is inadequate for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow. And in many cases for what we are facing today.

But this takes courage and humility. We have to acknowledge that we don’t know. Or that we need to learn from and with people who aren’t like us.

However, we can take lessons from nature and the world around us. Noticing the shifts, and asking what kind of thinking is required of us now, in this season of our life.

What remains?

But, let’s not confuse developing our thinking and being open to learning as being the same as letting go of our values and purpose.

These are our compass settings. The bedrock which defines who we are and why we are here.

While the expressions of these may change over time – indeed they must – the core remains.

Without them, we’ll be tossed around by the latest loud voice or dominant narrative.

We won’t know how to discern whether this is a healthy learning space or something that would cut us loose from things that are core to our being.

But hold them fearfully or too tightly and they become choked by old thinking and don’t breathe life.

Perhaps at this time, our need for gracious wisdom has never been more critical.

So where can you learn and develop your thinking fit for the times in which we live? And what shifts do you need to consider in this season in your life?

Just asking this question is powerful, but don’t stop there.

Thanks for reading

Sue

This week

I was privileged to spend 12 hours yesterday in the virtual company of Makers and Mavericks across the UK and beyond. To say it was an immersive experience is probably an understatement. David Hieatt and the team at Hiut Denim and The Do Lectures did a fantastic job of curating astonishing and inspiring creative contributions from across the globe, through different time zones, that left me feeling pleased to be alive at this time.