Stop. Sit down. Think.

“To take time to think is to gain time to live.”

Nancy Kline

The above sentence is a quote from the book “Time to Think” by Nancy Kline.

Brilliant book. 

My goal is to finish at least 26 books this year, i.e., at least two per month, and the three I have read so far have increased my expectations and excitement for the remainder of the year.

I started with Founder’s Mentality, about why founder-led companies outperform their peers threefold.

I continued with You Owe You about the role of ownership in your own life. But also about the story of Eric Thomas, the African American author of the book and a great motivational speaker.

And I just finished Time to Think today. This is my favorite of the three books I have read so far because it addresses the power each of us has when we allow time to think.

Not just for ourselves but also for others.

It addresses why listening is essential and the devastating impact constant and continuous interruption has on other people.

It’s my kind of book.

The first cue in my ebook “Mind. Set. Grow. — 10 life-changing cues for success and significance” starts with cue #1: 

Pause!

Why?

Because we don’t.

We don’t make time to think.

We don’t let others finish their sentences, let alone make them think for themselves.

We don’t object when we see others rushing to make decisions.

We just don’t think we have the time to stop and think.

“I don’t have time for that stupid stuff,” someone recently told me when I asked why he made a funny face when I shared my favorite quote:

“Slow down, to speed up.”

It’s not the first time in my life I received that reaction.

But at this point, I believe that those leaders (but they are just managers, bad managers) who don’t get the meaning of the quote are not the most intelligent ones.

Successful, quick, direct, result-focused, dominant, maybe, but not the most intelligent.

Yes, people can be successful and still not understand the quote or grasp the concept of time to think.

How would they know, because they also have no time to read books. 

“That stuff is a waste of time.”

When I was at the top of my career, I also didn’t read that many books. I also preferred to spend my time differently. I also forgot how important it is to keep learning.

And I also made decisions I regretted later.

Decisions I had to undo. Decisions, I had to backtrack.

And I always concluded I should have made the time to think my decision through.

That’s the key point here and the essence of the quote at the start of this insight.

When we make the time to think, we make better decisions. 

Decisions that prevent us from wasting time undoing, backtracking, regretting, resolving, or any other word that starts with re or un.

When we start our days by stopping, sitting down, and having a short thinking session of, perhaps not more than 15 minutes, we already improve what we’re doing.

When we make time to think, we gain time to live.

Your turn: Stop?

Do more of what makes you happy!

Erikjan