For this month’s theme, Mindful May, I initially thought I would read something centered on practicing being present, coping with burnout, or mind-body connections. I received my first big dose of what author Adam Grant calls “the joy of being wrong” when a friend recommended Grant’s new book THINK AGAIN and I found myself rethinking my thinking. What could be more mindful than that?

Chapter after chapter I found myself helpfully challenged on how, why, and what I think. I learned ways to reconsider ideas that may be closer to cultural truisms than the Truth. I also became more curious about how often we defensively double down on something when it might serve us better to actually re-examine, and maybe even turn around.

Grant’s work is founded upon extensive research, but I further appreciated that in the spirit of the subject matter, he walks the audience through several times where he was pushed to rethink personally and professionally. He takes us through how he examined his thoughts and, on many occasions, ultimately came to terms with changing his mind.

There is a mythical expectation that at some magical stage of adulthood, we have “arrived.” The truth is that we are always growing and learning as human beings, whether we are nine or ninety years old, and we can always benefit from re-examining our beliefs and ideas, where they’ve come from, and why we’re hanging onto them. THINK AGAIN encourages this kind of lifelong (un)learning and curiosity. If you’d like a taste of the material, author Adam Grant did a short TED talk recently on the content HERE. 

And then get ready to BUY the book HERE.