When we were kids we were told that we could do anything we set our minds to. Some learn to maintain that mentality, but the majority learn to think more realistically and proceed throughout life with more cautious decision making, which is often rooting in fear or a lack of self confidence. Sure, we do need to know our limits, but we often sell ourselves short due to small thinking. Is it possible to learn how to think big again? Yes! Here are a few tips for becoming a person who can think big:
- Identify You Passion – First, you must identify what you’re passionate about. If you lack passion, it will be nearly impossible to think outside of the box. Your passion gives you a keen sense of clarity around the big picture. If you can”t see into the future you’re only looking at what is right in front of you. That will not give you the best insight into which direction to go.
- Dream the Possibilities – Though you may not have all of the answers yet, you must allow yourself to imagine the biggest and best outcomes. How can you ever accomplish your wildest dreams if you’re not dreaming the wildest things.
- Put Pen to Paper – If you want to bring clarity to what is floating around in your mind, you must put it down on paper. There is something about having a visual format that gives you a perspective to actually put it into action. When you can physically see a structure of the concept, you’re far more likely to feel capable of taking steps toward the goal.
- Answer Why – It’s not enough to understand how you might accomplish a dream. You must understand why you’re doing it. When you lose your sense of why you’re doing what you’re doing, you will veer of course when things get tough. You must have a resolved purpose if you’re going to succeed. The why is what motivates anyone to do anything. Without a why, there will always be a lack of vision, motivation and innovation.
- Define the Needs – Once you’ve outlined the big picture, you need to be clear on what would need to happen in order to bring the big picture to pass. What kind of team would you need? What kind of financial investment would it take? These are things that you must be clear on in order to set legitimate goals.
- Set a Clear Timeline – It’s human nature to procrastinate, especially when we don’t feel a sense of urgency about what we’re doing. Though we shouldn’t be driven by the “urgent,” it is important for us to know that deadlines are ahead. Though the timelines may shift as things move along, you must be determined to accomplish milestones on specific timelines.
- Keep the Vision in Front of You – There will always be a lot to be done. It’s quite easy to bury yourself in the details and get distracted by the here and now. But, eventually you have to take a breath and look into the future. This is why it’s important to write down your dreams so that you can come back to them and remind yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing. Keep looking at the big picture and you’ll find yourself more clear on how to solve the problems of the here and now.