A new way of thinking

The other day I was reminiscing about a fun past time I used to take part in. In my early twenties, some friends and I would take our four wheel drive trucks and head for the mountains. We would then find some old logging roads and trails to drive on and go do a little exploring. Combine that with a little skeet shooting throughout the day and all of us would have a great time! Sometimes, we would find ourselves on dirt / mud roads and our four wheel drive would be a must.

I recall back to a certain time when our small group came across a steep muddy. Several of us tried to climb the hill but had very little luck because it was just to slick. After about fifteen minutes or so, I noticed a friend of mine was letting some of the air out of his tires on his Ford Bronco. As several of us witnessed this, we began to laugh at him asking him why he was letting the air out of his tires? He said he was flattening his tires. He took our criticism well and just told us to watch him.

Minutes later, we were in shock and awe as he was the only one able to climb that steep muddy hill and, he did it with ease! I have to admit, I was in a bit of disbelief. There was no way he could have just done that... he made it look easy! Several of us tried the hill again but still could not get up it. In our way of thinking and what we knew to be true, simply letting some of the air out of your tires could not make that much difference.

Even though a handful of us witnessed this, we still could not believe it. Primarily (looking back on it) because it did not line up with what we believed to be true. We had never tried this, nor had we ever heard of it. To the majority of us, this just could not be true. Quite the opposite though… this was in fact a great way to get more traction, we had just never known it.

Today, as I look around our society, I see many people who hold the same old belief day in and day out. They are going by what they have always known and continue to do things the way they have always done them. Truth be known, often times, there is a better way out there but very few people are open minded enough to entertain a new idea. This was me back then. I thought I knew the best way. In my mind I had all the answers, so why consider knew ones? After all, my parents always did things the same way over and over again. So I was just going off of what my parents taught me.

Aside from principles, morals, values and ethics, a new way of thinking or doing things is not very far out of reach. In fact, often it is lurking just around the corner. Being willing to listen, consider or entertain a new way of thinking can very well be the seed towards living a more fulfilling life. It is those old ways of thinking that like to hold us captive and keep us from a higher level of understanding. If you and I can allow ourselves to listen more and resist less, we might just find that we don’t have all the answers.

Like the old saying goes: “Your mind is like a parachute, it works best when it is open” could very well be the gateway to getting more of the things we want in life and I personally, believe that having an open mind is the best way to go through this life. Then, let your gut feeling or your discernment be your guide to what you should believe.

Have a great Friday everyone.


Scott Stewart

Author, Speaker and Inspiring others to a life of greatness

scott@lovelossandgrowth.com