Do words such as always, never, unworkable, unbearable, or impossible creep into your thoughts and conversations?
Could ingrained thinking be narrowing your views, ideas, and opportunities?
If so, you may have good reasons to practice flexible thinking? Flexible thinking is a one of a group of essential mental skills or executive functions that you use to facilitate planning, comprehension, reasoning, and problem-solving. It is also your brain's ability to activate self-regulating skills that you use every day to organize, make decisions, or learn from past mistakes. Flexible thinking allows you to make real-time evaluations of your actions and make necessary adjustments if those actions are not achieving the desired result.
Since our world is in a constant state of flux, many things you do every day requires cognitive flexibility. It helps you to break away from any ingrained thinking to view your situation through a different lens. When you are more receptive to shifting dynamics or difficult situations it give you more direction over your career development and personal life.
When you employ flexible thinking, it opens the door to myriad new possibilities in your life. It helps you manage the unexpected as well as incorporate new information into your plans and ideas.
Socially: There are many benefits to being able interpret what others are saying and doing, play and work with others, understand humour, be receptive to new experiences, and develop different strategies for tackling life's problems.
Learning: Cognitive flexibiliy is necessary for our glabally rich landscape and technically enhanced environments when you need an open-minded and must be adapt to new learning methods. It helps you generate ideas.
Workplace: In the workplace it allows you to shift gears and adapt to change quickly which is a key component of developing different strategies for innovation, solving problems with fewer constraints, helping groups be more effective, and adjusting to a changing economic environment.
Emotional Well-being: Having a flexible approach to thinking is a key aspect of self-regulation and handling big emotions, which means you will be better equipped to manage uncertainty or bouncing back from disappointment. Being less anxious, overwhelmed or stifled by unpredictable circumstances in your life or workplace, allows you to change your plans or get used to new situations with very little difficulty. Removing the negativity and stress in your life enhances your overall well-being and give you better, work/life balance.
An organization hires you because you are qualified for the job, but it will recognize and promote you because of the extra things you do which is one aspect of cognitive flexibily that is valued in the workplace.
Evidence of your effort and commitment are the extra steps you have taken to enhance your career such as the technology you have learned or the certificates you have earned. An employer notices when you demonstrate willingness to meet the needs of the company when you do things like cover the responsibilities of a colleague while they are ill or help a colleague meet a deadline, even if it means working extra hours. They recognize how your cognitive flexibility contributes to your emotional well-being because it is reflected in your attitude, how well you work with others, and the karma you bring to the workplace. Employers value flexibility in the workplace because they see you grow with the business which expands your career opportunities and can provide long-term job security.
Working in a flexible work environment with people who practice flexible thinking has many benefits. It signals that the people value diversity in the workplace as well as fosters trust and commitment. That sort of environment encourages you to achieve greater work-life balance and enjoy job satisfaction. It's great to work with people who feel fulfilled and where moral is high. It's a win for the business too.
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