Today thinking matters. Thinking matters a lot. It is only due to one’s thinking; one goes ahead in his career, tides over the challenges & masters changing situations. Thinking is a skill & it needs to be harnessed in order for any one to excel. Your mind is like a muscle. It gets developed only with constant use. Just as you have to strain your physical muscles to build them, you have to work your mental muscles to build your mind as well. If that is so, how do you go about the act of thinking constructively? Let me put it the way I understand.

If you want to become a great thinker, you first need to become a good thinker. Before becoming a good thinker, you need to become a thinker. In order to become a thinker, you need to be willing to first produce a bunch of mediocre & downright bad ideas. Only by practicing & developing your thinking daily will your ideas get better. Your thinking ability is determined not by your desire to think, but your past thinking. To become a good thinker, do more thinking. Once the ideas start flowing, they get better. Once they get better, they keep improving.

Now can I say that “All that a man achieves or fails to achieve is the result of his thoughts.”

With the world of uncertainty & the future being frighteningly unknowable, people are willing to rethink the existing thinking, stretch one’s imagination, challenge assumptions, take risks, manage change & break out of the box. This is ‘Quantum Leap Thinking.’

I would like to discuss with you a few strategies which will open you up to what is possible & guide you to create a dynamic & passionate vision for your future.  

• The first step toward taking a quantum leap is to be willing to examine the filter of your own belief system. We need to clean the lens through which we view life; we need to change our filter. If we are unaware of our power to do that, we become victims. We believe we are powerless-that people, things, or situations are doing things to us.

• The second step is a commitment to learn ceaselessly & continuously without getting tired. In order to uncover possibilities within ourselves, you need to discover not only in knowing yourself which you know & knowing yourself which you do not know but also which you do not know you know & which you do not know that you do not know.

• The third step is to unlock your creativity cells in your mind. Your creativity is stimulated by three factors: first, intensely desired goals; second pressing problems; & third, focused questions. The more you focus your mind on achieving your goals, solving your problems, or answering the tough questions about your business & personal life, the smarter you become & better your mind works for you in the future. In other words, it is to think outside the box.

• The forth step is not only to understand & accept the change but to manage & thrive over the change. It is the law of life & those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future. Do not be scared of change. Get ahead of fear of change. Ahead of fear of change is success. Look for the possibilities that change inherently offers.  

• The fifth step is the power of paradigm shifting. If you believe that most of your problems are out of control, you are voluntarily giving up your personal power & choosing to live in a comfort zone. Your willingness to examine your conscious gives you the power to change how you think, & thereby change your reality; convex to concave, victim to creator.

• The sixth step is to make a concrete path to one’s vision. In life, leap happen only when you are committed to continuous action & consistent growth, the magic will happen at the most unexpected times. Change your current view of the situation to a better view of the situation, but you need to remind yourself to consciously switch your awareness.

• The seventh step is a quantum leap will take place only when you see things as they are, not as you wish them to be. It means that the problem was not “out there,” nor was it about what others were doing to you. The problem was your own belief system & the strategies from which you were operating.

• The eighth step to make quantum leaps in your personal growth, it is not enough to simply have values, know what they are, & live by them every day of your life. The five quantum leap values are respect, accountability, integrity, perseverance & discipline. You may need them to refocus, examine your values, & balance your lives.

Having understood as to what is Quantum Leap Thinking is all about; you need to take a leap to the next level in your life by shifting your thinking.

• You need to push the gate of mind slightly ajar & let the light steam in, the meaning of life becomes silently revealed to you. It is an uphill task. It will take a long time. It is also a continuous process. In order to open the gate of mind to get the priceless knowledge, you need to unlearn the things which you have learned over the past. By getting rid of them consciously, it will be extremely easy to learn the newly found knowledge. You will surprised by the knowledge you possess now which you have achieved & assimilated through deliberate learning. Your happiness will be infinite.

• Fear is a natural part of the growth process, so as long as you continue to grow, you will sometimes be afraid. Use your energy not to prevent fear but carry out your commitment. If you do the things you fear, the death of fear is certain. When you act with courage, unseen forced will come to your aid & every act of courage increases your courage & capacity for courage in the future. Whenever you take action in a forward direction with no guarantees of success, your fear diminish & your courage & confidence increase manifold. You eventually reach the point where you are not afraid of anything.

• Take calculated risk. Risk taking is the spice of life. It means growth & innovation. Taking risks is stretching to meet your potential. Taking risk & failing to reach would at least mean that you have tried but failed in your attempt. The next time when you go about taking another risk you might succeed as you now are aware of the roads which lead to failure.   

Having understood as to what taking a leap is all about; you need to balance your life & the same can be achieved by following certain approach.

• What are the areas of your life are in balance, you resonate; you are in tune. Evaluate your life as a system & develop a holistic approach to living. When all the parts of your life are balanced; quantum leaps take place naturally & effortlessly. How balanced is your life?  Below given are seven categories of needs vital to a life of balance & harmony. Consider carefully how much energy & time you spend on these different aspects of your life.

-         Emotional well-being. You are born with 100 percent of our creative potential. If 30%, 60%, 80% of our creative energy is taken up with emotional baggage, we are using up energy that could be put to better use. Get rid of this emotional baggage of anger, bitterness, or guilt, notice how you begin to lighten up. Forgive & forget & feel how lighter & clearer you feel.

-         Spirituality. Spirituality holds different meanings for different people. It is personal & intimate. Today, the corporate are slowly acknowledging the importance of spiritual values. Some multinational companies, for example, refer to the values of harmony & cooperation, struggle for betterment, fairness, gratitude, & courtesy in their company literature. When you view your life as having a higher purpose like praying, meditate, exercise, go a place of worship the spiritual needs are taken care of.  

-         Physical Health. Your body is a direct reflection of your beliefs. Take care of body & the body will respond you positively during stress. If your health is at its peak & if all the organs in your body are working in a synchronized manner you will achieve your optimal physical self. By getting the right physical health you will have the right thinking, memory, reasoning abilities which will translate into concrete results.

-         Mental Stimulation. It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well. One has a tendency to do the same thing with their minds; but keeping the mind in shape demands a variety of exercises & experiences. It is a myth that learning is for young people. The middle & later years of life are great, great learning years. True learning goes far beyond acquiring information & skills. As you mature, you learn not to waste precious energy on anxiety & fear. You learn that self-pity, resentment, jealousy, hate, anger, & envy are emotional drugs. You learn that talent is wonderful, but life generally pays off on character. This is one of the solid foundations of Quantum Leap Thinking & gives balance in one’s life.   

-         Financial Security. Prosperity is attracted to the person who is emotionally & intellectually ready to accept it, expect it, & enjoy it. Wealth is the product of a man’s capacity to think. Scarcity is fear-based. Scarcity can stem from believing money is wrong, or that you’re not good enough to have it. Belief in abundance is a leap of faith. It is the belief that you can always create what money you need & you possess will bring that kind of riches.

-         Relationships. Love is the medicine for the sickness of mankind. You can live if you have love. A relationship touches the very center of what it means to be human, but when you choose to open yourself up, you risk being hurt. Accept the people as they are & respect the needs of the individual in your relationship. It gives you stability, strength, value, courage & with a rich bonded relationship people think, do & act better.

-         Career. You have far more control over your work than you realize. You have the power to change how you view your work. You have the power to build meaning into it. You have the power to find or create a job that makes you feel complete. When you have a fulfilled career which brings money, affiliation, purpose & meaning it provides a sense of belongingness & an opportunity for recognition. If the current job of any person lacks due to any of the reasons as given above then the balance scale is disturbed.  

• When you apply these strategies, you create your own quantum leaps. The probability of your success is heightened as you have all the necessary ingredients. Even if you fail you will fail less than the people who fail more because of their ignorance on the subject.  

Taking the quantum leap means taking a risk, going off into an uncharted territory with no guide to follow. 

The author is Iyer Subramanian. Has a vast experience and expertise in the field of HR. Presently, working with Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ballard Pier, Mumbai as a Joint Director-HR.