Being practical is more difficult than you can imagine in our professional and our personal lives.
Yet the Being Practical Mindset really changes the way we view our wants and desires as well as gives a grounded direction on how we set our goals and achieve them. It’s completely human to expect the best out of life and the results we expect out of our efforts. However more than often we overlook what is possible and we tend to over expect or even make commitments we cannot keep. As the saying goes “Aim for the sky so that you can land on the treetop. Today’s article looks at this saying with a different perspective- “Aim for the treetop and land on the tree top”. Now understanding how we can become more practical.
Being practical basically means being real and grounded. Reacting to situations after understanding your current environment rather than going by impulse, gut feel and ideas. You also plan in advance, anticipate and intercept. Here are a few changes you can bring into your behaviour to start to cultivate the ‘Being Practical’ mindset-
Approaching actions and plans with practicality
Before changing gear and rolling forward on the road to your destination practice the pause to reflect. Ask your self basic questions like ‘Do I have the fuel to get to my destination?’, ‘Am I carrying my spare tyre?’, ‘Am I physically fit to drive this distance?’. Its not just about checking your capability and ability, but also your current environment. Emotions, especially today play a major role in our lives when we take decisions. Especially when we are challenged or cornered by situations and developments. Any action taken when we are challenged or even angry will always take us up the wrong road. Its good for you to actually wait till you are calm and then make your next move. One final question you need to build in yourself henceforth before taking any major decision “Is this practical?”
Focus on things that can be put into practice
Practical means concerning yourself with things that can be put into practice, or things that have an actual use in real life. So basically, the opposite of theoretical. So, when you strategize, while not forgetting the essence of your strategy, concentrate on the methods of strategic execution. Any plan remains a plan until its executed. Being practical is also about valuing time and taking the first step and measuring its impact before you take the second and the balance steps. Convert yourself to becoming a pragmatic thinker hit the ground while running for sure so that you don’t loose opportunities but keep thinking and acting. Being practical means that you hone in on getting the desired results from the start.
Become more flexible and adaptable
Being rigid and inflexible is seen as a road block by the being practical flag bearers. People with this mindset are completely aware of the fact that change is rampant and take it as a personal triumph to ride the waves of change. They are guided by the brightness of their goal lighthouse in the stormy and dark seas and their obsession is to reach their goals by any means. They are very consistent in their habits and approaches and stay far away from planning which they do not relate to. To them its more about doing their stuff as well as they can and moving forward. The only downside to this being practical approach is that the practitioners are always stressed out as compared to their methodical peers
The Balanced Mindset is ideal
While the Being Practical Mindset has its plusses, it also has several downsides. The biggest being lack of analysis and thought. As well as spontaneous reinvention of strategy which is essential in today’s world of chaos. The best mindset to cultivate us the Balanced Mindset. While I have written an article previously on this subject in this column, the internet defines it as “A balanced mindset helps you navigate emotions and decisions with clarity. It’s about finding harmony between your feelings and rational thinking”.
“Today’s practicality is often no more than the accepted form of yesterday’s theory”. Kenneth L. Pike
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