How to thinking realistically - Set and achieve clear targets

How to thinking realistically - Set and achieve clear targets 

What is reality? Don’t worry, this isn’t a philosophy lecture! In fact, there’s a pretty simple answer: reality is the difference between your desires and how the world actually is.

If you want to succeed in the real world, you have to leave your daydreams behind and start thinking realistically.

That means setting targets and drawing up a game plan that’ll put you in a position to hit them.
Consider a businessman who isn’t a realistic thinker: He’s positive and full of hope about the company’s future. That’s a great attitude to have, but there’s a problem – he doesn’t have a strategy. And without a strategy, his company’s likely to fail.

In the end, he’s a bad leader. Realistic thinking, by contrast, promotes excellent leadership. That’s because facing up to the way things really are forces you to clearly define your aims and formulate a plan of action that’ll get you there.

Realistic thinking also helps simplify things. Stripping away all the unnecessary details and vague hopes and dreams makes you more efficient.

But what if you’re an optimist, rather than a realist, by nature? Then you should start by doing your homework. That means getting to know the facts.

Say you’re a business leader mulling over your next move: ask yourself what you’d do if your revenue dried up, a customer didn’t pay or the bottom fell out of the market you’re in.
Spend time researching these scenarios – after all, your realistic thinking won’t amount to much if you’re basing it on insufficient information.

It’s important to clear your mind of all preconceptions, prejudices and second-hand opinions when you’re doing this kind of background work. Instead of making assumptions, get to know the facts yourself.

Chances are, you’re not the only person facing this particular situation. Your thinking needs to be solid, it doesn’t have to be original. You can learn a lot by looking at what other people have done in similar circumstances.

As the author puts it, some of his best thinking was done by others.