Access Points to Confidence - #2 Think for Yourself

Thinking for yourself is a skill.

It requires cultivation and practise.

That’s because, according to Matt Church, author of THINK and Founder of Thought Leaders Business School, it’s likely that when you were at school, you weren’t taught to think for yourself.

It’s more likely you were trained in compliance and obedience, encouraged to follow the rules and stick to the procedures.

Given this background, it takes effort to think for yourself. However the rewards make the effort worthwhile.

When you can think for yourself, the fog and haze of blindly following the rules starts to clear, and you increasingly find yourself in the drivers seat of your life. 

Thinking for yourself is counter to losing yourself in what others want you to do, say or be.

While mental exertion is involved, the more you practise, the easier it becomes. You’ll feel stronger within yourself and this inner strength creates confidence over time.

Just like jumping in a car and not thinking about how to drive, after a while, you won’t need to think about thinking for yourself – it becomes automatic.

How do you start?

Noticing how often you’re told what to do is a great place to start. Begin by raising your awareness of the societal push to not think for yourself, but rather, to follow the rules.

Within 50 metres of the front door to my unit for example, there are 6 signs telling me what to do and what not to do.

“Strictly tenants only”, “WARNING – strong currents”, “no parking Thursdays 6am-11am”, “CAUTION Magpie-larks in this area may swoop. Protect yourself.” “Please close the gate.” ‘NO junk mail. Thank you!”

Start noticing how often you’re told what to do and warned about the consequences of not complying.

Then, instead of blindly following the signs, procedures and rules, get into the practise of asking:

“What do I think about that?”

Do I really need to protect myself from swooping Magpie-larks everytime I go out?

Test the rules.

Think for yourself.

Formulate your own opinion and build the muscle of clarity and confidence.