We’ve all heard the expression “Put on your Thinking Cap” but do you actually have one?
A Thinking Cap, I mean. And preferably, a vintage one.
No? Then it’s time to get one!
I think we all need a very special Thinking Cap to sit down and set our goals for 2012.
You don’t need it for your SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely). You can write those out just like you’ve been taught.
Bu then it’s time to put on your Thinking Cap.
Its magical powers allow you to think big…
and then think Bigger…
and then think even BIGGER…
until you’re brave enough to write down one ginormous, radical goal that, if you were to share it with someone, would have them thinking you were wearing a Crazy Cap, not a Thinking Cap.
Why?
Why is it so important to set this one goal with your Thinking Cap on?
Well, I think the idea is explained beautifully by Douglas Edwards in his book, I Feel Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59. In it, Edwards quotes another Google employee, Urs Holzle, who said:
Starting with something that’s more ambitious will get you something that’s reasonable. But if you don’t put the goal post way out there, people are already taking fewer risks and are less ambitious about how big the idea should be.
It’s this attitude, of always striving to hit it out of the ballpark, and not caring that someone would characterize their ambitious goals as “crazy talk,” that allowed Google to index a BILLION web pages when all of its competitors were merely crawling a 100 million pages or so.
You see, more often than not, we are limited not by our resources—the time, money, education or support we have access to—but by our THINKING.
Think small and you’ll get small results. Think BIG and, though you may fall short, you stand a better chance of landing far, far ahead of those folks who can only think small.
And most of us have a habit of thinking small. It’s built into our culture, which is why we’re taught SMART goal-setting (which I think should stand for Safe, Mediocre, Average, Responsible and Tame).
Why not set yourself a unique, radical, I-don’t-think-I-can-achieve-this-but-why-not-try-it-goal? You don’t even need to share it with anyone if you don’t want to. Let it be your secret.
But be prepared. You just may discover that with BIG thinking and BABY steps, amazing things can happen.
So if you don’t have a personal Thinking Cap yet, go find one fast. And I’d like to suggest that you seek out a unique vintage version like today’s VPOD.
This vintage 1950s plastic and rhinestone hair crown would definitely set your thoughts soaring, but it’s just one option. Perhaps you prefer a 1920s cloche. Or maybe a vintage aviator cap is more your style.
In fact, ANY vintage Thinking Cap that encourages BIG thinking is the right choice for a Vintage Crusader.
Available at Chez Vous.
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