How Successful People Think: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life pdfdrive com

4. Try New Things in New Ways
When was the last time you did something for the first time? Do you avoid
taking risks or trying new things? One of the best ways to get out of the rut of
your own thinking is to innovate. You can do that in little, everyday ways: drive
to work a different way from normal. Order an unfamiliar dish at your favorite
restaurant. Ask a different colleague to help you with a familiar project. Take
yourself off of autopilot.
Unpopular thinking asks questions and seeks options. In 1997, my three
companies moved to Atlanta, Georgia. It’s a great city, but traffic at peak times
can get crazy. Immediately after moving here, I began looking for and testing
alternative routes to desired destinations so that I would not be caught in traffic.
From my house to the airport, for example, I have discovered and used nine
routes within eight miles and twelve minutes from one another. Often I am
amazed to see people sitting on the freeway when they could be moving forward
on an alternative route. What is the problem? Too many people have not tried
new things in new ways. It is true: most people are more satisfied with old
problems than committed to finding new solutions.
How you go about doing new things in new ways is not as important as
making sure you do it. (Besides, if you try to do new things in the same way that
everyone else does, are you really going against popular thinking?) Get out there
and do something different today.

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5. Get Used to Being Uncomfortable
When it comes right down to it, popular thinking is comfortable. It’s like an
old recliner adjusted to all the owner’s idiosyncrasies. The problem with most
old recliners is that no one has
 looked
at them lately. If so, they’d agree that it’s
time to get a new one! If you want to reject popular thinking in order to embrace
achievement, you’ll have to get used to being uncomfortable.
If you embrace unpopular thinking and make decisions based upon what
works best and what is right rather than what is commonly accepted, know
this: in your early years you won’t be as wrong as people think you are. In
your later years, you won’t be as right as people think you are. And all
through the years, you will be better than you thought you could be.