You want to come across as a strong leader, a manager having confidence or as person of outstanding sincerity? Read, listen or watch interviews of a managers or political leaders and count how many times they use the phrase “I think …”!
“I think there will be a future for …”, “I think this fits the conditions …” or worse if the “I” is replaced by the plural: “We think that this product will be a success …”
Those are a few samples but they do sound familiar, don’t they?
Let’s have a look at what it means or what is the hidden (subconscious) message:
- I am not sure
- I am only thinking about it
- It was just an idea
- I am not convinced
- I want to be vague
- It is only a guess
Before you continue reading, here is the ultimate (humorous) test! What would you prefer to hear?
“I love you!” or “I think, I love you!”?
Obviously you wish for, he or she better say what they mean!
Peter Tradowsky wrote in 2010, after the worldwide financial crisis which he says was also equivalent to the crisis of the SELF, of how to evaluate the quality of a conscious Self.
In my humble translation of a chapter from his book “Der Widerstand des Ich” (The Resistance of the I),
he mentioned: ”… a healthy Self has the virtues of:
- Responsibility and accountability
- Trust and confidence
- Sense of reality or grounded in reality
- Interest and concern for others
- Candour and open mind
- Clarity and serenity”
A sentence starting “I think …”, does it convey the attitudes, attributes and characteristics of a self-conscious person as mentioned above? After all I hope you won’t answer with: “I don’t think so …”
Joachim Haider
for organic Arts+Architecture, an Indo-German architectural design firm in beautiful Goa
