If you desire to seize
new opportunities and open new horizons, then you need to add big-picture thinking to your
abilities. To become a good thinker better able to see the big picture, keep in
mind the following suggestions:
1. Don’t Strive for
Certainty
Big-picture thinkers
are comfortable with ambiguity. They don’t try to force every observation or piece of data into
pre-formulated mental cabby holes. They think broadly and can juggle many seemingly contradictory
thoughts in their minds. If you want to cultivate the ability to think big picture, then you must
get used to embracing and dealing with complex and diverse ideas.
2. Learn from Every
Experience
Big-picture thinkers
broaden their outlook by striving to learn from every experience. They don’t rest on their
successes, they learn from them. More importantly, they learn from their
failures. They can do that because
they remain teachable. Varied experiences—both
positive and negative—help you see the big picture. The greater the variety of experience
and success, the more potential to learn you have. If you desire to be a big- picture thinker, then
get out there and try a lot of things, take a lot of chances, and take time to
learn after every victory or
defeat.
3. Gain Insight from a
Variety of People
Big-picture thinkers
learn from their experiences. But they also learn from experiences they don’t have. That is, they
learn by receiving insight from others—from customers, employees, colleagues, and leaders.
If you desire to
broaden your thinking and see more of the big picture, then seek out counselors
to help you. But be wise
in whom you ask for advice. Gaining insight from a variety of people doesn’t mean stopping anyone
and everyone in hallways and grocery store lines and asking what they think about a given subject.
Be selective. Talk to people who know and care about you, who know their field, and who bring
experience deeper and broader than your own.
4. Give Yourself
Permission to Expand Your World
If you want to be a
big-picture thinker, you will have to go against the flow of the world. Society wants to keep people in
boxes. Most people are married mentally to the status quo. They want what was, not what can be.
They seek safety and simple answers. To think big-picture, you need to give yourself permission to
go a different way, to break new ground, to find new worlds to conquer. And when your world does
get bigger, you need to celebrate. Never forget there is more out there in the world than what you’ve
experienced.
Keep learning, keep
growing, and keep looking at the big picture! If you desire to be a good
thinker, that’s what
you need to do.