Reason: Your Highest Mental Faculty for Growth

Want to hear something crazy?

I used to argue for my own limitations.

Hard to believe, right? At the time, I was a successful corporate VP. I was good at my job. I knew I was smart, strategic, and thoughtful. I was well-liked.

But here’s the truth: when opportunities came up that could have stretched me into my next level of leadership - even when my colleagues clearly saw my potential - I quietly (and unconsciously) argued against myself.

That self-sabotage kept me stuck and held me back from rising to the higher levels of leadership I was capable of.

What I know now is that most people have thousands of thoughts each day, yet many of those thoughts are the same as last week, last month, and sometimes last year. Familiar thoughts feel safe, so they run on repeat. Consider how high the cost is because recycled thinking keeps you stuck in recycled results. 

My familiar thoughts kept me safe.

Think About Your Thinking

I've since learned that reason is the faculty that lets you do something different. It's a mental faculty and it's built into you. It lets you pause, examine, and choose. It allows you to not just think, but think about your thinking. Science calls this metacognition. In practice, it is the moment you step back from the mental stream and say, “Is this the best thought to hold right now?”

Your ability to think is what makes you the highest form of creation here on planet Earth. But are you really thinking, or just running the same mental programs every day? As Bob Proctor said, “Mental activity does not constitute thinking.”

The Power You Are Sitting On

Raymond Holliwell wrote in Working with the Law, “Man’s problem, then, is to direct his power of thinking into constructive channels of expression. It is a scientific fact that no power can act without producing some kind of an effect, and by merely thinking we are constantly producing effects.”

I come back to that line often. Thinking always produces effects. Which means your current results are evidence of your current patterns of thought. When you engage your reasoning faculty, you stop letting old patterns drive the show. You choose a different cause to create a different effect.

Here are three steps to stop letting old patterns drive the show:

Step One: Clarify Your Goals

Clarify your vision and goals. Take the time to allow yourself to dream and ask the following questions. I recommend you write down:

• What is your three year vision for your career and life?
• What is one professional goal and one personal goal that you'd like to achieve in the next 12 months?

Your goals should stretch you to grow and move you in the direction of your vision.

Step Two: Take Daily Action Aligned With Your Goals

Use your reasoning faculty to distinguish between your "to do" list and daily actions that are aligned with your goals:

• Every evening, write out six specific actions you intend to take tomorrow that are aligned with your goals. 
• Block the time in your calendar for each activity.  
• Take daily action!

Step Three:  Become an Observer

As you take daily action aligned with your goals, observe yourself - especially if you get triggered. I use three questions that cut through the noise:

• Does this thought serve me?
  
• Is it moving me toward my vision and goals? Is it aligned with future I want?
  
• Is it likely to produce the effect I want?
  

If the answer is no, there is your signal. You have found a thought that needs to be challenged. Then, use your reasoning faculty to originate a new, better thought.

Try this simple swap:

• Name the limiting thought:
  “I always freeze in big meetings.”
  
• Reframe it in a way that causes the effect you want:
  “When I prepare with intention, I contribute clearly and confidently."
  

It is the wise use of your higher mental faculty of reason:  thinking that aligns with your capabilities, not your doubts.

Bring It Home

You cannot always control your circumstances but you can always direct the meaning you give them and the thoughts you choose next.  Engage your reasoning faculty to leverage different effects.

Today, I don't argue with my limitations anymore.  I've learned to engage my reasoning faculty to keep my thoughts aligned with my goals. It takes attention, dedication and discipline and it's worth it! My career and life are so much more fulfilling, exciting and rewarding without the self-sabotage.

And because I don’t want you to be held back by these common patterns is why I’m so committed to helping smart, successful high-achieving leaders like you to break through limiting patterns so you can align with your most exceptional careers and lives. 

Want to rise to your next level of leadership?  Schedule a complimentary strategy consultation here.