Thought Tuning™

You just downloaded a tool that can show you how to achieve breakthrough career success without compromising your Christian values. It’s a simple process called Thought Tuning™ and I’m sure you’re excited to begin.

This guide is structured to demonstrate how thoughts are at the very root of our career outcomes. You will learn how mastering your thinking leads to mastering career growth.

We begin with a simple truth: The way you act is controlled by the way you feel is controlled by the way you think.

I learned this concept early in my career. At that time I was in the US Navy submarine service. Back then I was a young Christian stumbling my way through life, trying to change my daily thinking. I saw how it affected my own promotability. In recent years I have come to understand it more formally as a process that can be taught, learned and mastered.

Now I give it to you. I am certain you will broaden your horizons using Thought Tuning™ and see a change in every area of your life: your career, your relationships and especially your walk with God.

This guide first establishes the foundations of Thought Tuning™, then provides Biblical support for the importance of it, and finally ends with the actual process.

As you begin reading and practicing these principles, may I suggest you devote this effort to the greater glory of God. As one of the Psalmists wrote: Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name give glory because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth.

May God bless your fantastic journey,

This is perhaps the most important question we can ask along this journey. Why control our thoughts anyway? What significance does controlling my thoughts have on career growth? What do the two have in common?

The answer is not surprising: It’s all about performance! The way you think controls your actions. The sum total of all your actions equals your overall performance. The way you perform determines your career outcome. It’s that simple.

And this is the way it should be. Good consistent performance is the main criteria by which a company or business determines its longevity. If a company performs poorly over time it will cease to be. If it performs consistently well over time it will grow and establish itself in the marketplace and live on. As it outperforms its closest competitor, it will become an industry leader, selling the most product and attracting the best talent.

A company’s growth is directly proportional to the effectiveness of its employees. No matter how great the product or service, if a company doesn’t have employees that get the product into the hands of consumers, the product is useless. Employees are a company’s number one asset. If the employees perform well, the company will. As the employees go, so goes the company.

To succeed, companies will hire and promote employees who are successful. And since each employee’s success is determined by their performance, as the employee excels in their role, the outcomes of their career will proportionally change.

This is where your thoughts hold the greatest impact. It works like this: Your overall performance is boiled down to a collection of actions over time. This collection of actions is boiled down to how you perceive your circumstances. The way you perceive your circumstances is based on how you think about each circumstance. That means the way you perceive a situation comes from what you tell yourself about the situation and will determine how you respond to the situation.

And as you build great responses to these difficult situations, over time, your career will grow. If you have a pattern of poor responses to difficult situations, over time, your career will at best stall and at worst fail.

The reason I use this illustration is to underscore a very important point about Thought Tuning™: God steers the course of a man’s life! We can only row.

Life is not about the Law of Attraction as defined by modern day spiritual metaphysics. The Law of Attraction is not scientifically founded, meaning there is no empirical data to support it. Thought Tuning™ is about the power of God’s word leading us toward Christ and “life to the full” in Him. Thought Tuning™ is not about the Law of Attraction.

The Law of Attraction was founded as part of the ‘New Thought Movement’ in the late 1800’s, strongly influenced by Thomas Troward and Religious Science. He was developing theories of spiritual metaphysics claiming, “thought precedes physical form and the action of mind plants that nucleus which, if allowed to grow undisturbed, will eventually attract to itself all the conditions necessary for its manifestation in outward visible form.”¹ This, of course, has nothing to do with God’s plan for our lives since it refers to the individual as the center of creation instead of God. We don’t create new things by thinking about them any more than we created the universe or plants or animals or sunlight.

Wikipedia defines the Law of Attraction as this: The name given to the belief that “like attracts like” and that by focusing on positive or negative thoughts, one can bring about positive or negative results. For example, if a person opened an envelope expecting to see a bill, then according to the law of attraction, the envelope would “confirm” those thoughts and contain a bill when opened. A person who decided to instead expect a check might, under the same law, find a check instead of a bill.²

Although evidence exists for the powerful effect of positive thinking on our daily outcomes, we can’t will a new red car into our lives by simply thinking about it or repeating daily affirmations. Nor do we get promoted to an executive leadership role doing the same. This directly contradicts God’s word:

Many celebrity internet video testimonials can be found where the celebrity says, with earnest conviction, their career blossomed because they kept repeating some affirmation that eventually “came true”, there is zero empirical evidence. You may also have your own personal experience where you continued thinking about what you wanted and it materialized. It can and does happen… only if it’s according to God’s perfect will.

These “proofs” (yours or a celebrity’s) are Confirmation Bias, not the Law of Attraction. Confirmation bias refers to a type of selective thinking where someone tends to notice and look for what confirms their beliefs, and ignores or undervalues the relevance of what contradicts them.³

Here’s what I mean: How many times did that same celebrity repeat something else throughout their life that never came true? How many times have you hoped and dreamed and prayed for something specific that just seemed to go nowhere? In reality, it did go somewhere, exactly where God wanted it. Knowing and trusting God frees us from anxiety and worry and pressure and fear.⁴ God is in control and He has your deepest desires in mind:

Rowing harder in life with intention and focus will make a difference, especially doing so with a positive mindset. The rest we thankfully and prayerfully leave in God’s mighty and capable hands. Thought Tuning™ will help sharpen your intention and create a mindset for success.

Thought Tuning™ is more in line with visualization techniques. Visualization is well grounded in professional and amateur athletics today, and has a fair amount of science behind it. It is seldom taught or practiced, however, by corporate America or Christianity.

A related study by Australian psychologist Alan Richardson confirmed the reality of this phenomenon when he chose three random groups for a basketball experiment.⁶ None had ever used visualization. The first group practiced doing free throws every day for 20 days. The second made free throws on the first day and 20^th day, as did the third group. But members of the third group spent 20 minutes every day visualizing free throws. If they “missed” in their mental imagery, they “practiced” getting the next shot right.

On the twentieth day Richardson measured the percent improvement within each group. The group that practiced daily improved 24% while the second group, unsurprisingly, showed no improvement. The third group, the one that visualized free throws and practiced no more than the second group, did 23% better than before, nearly matching the group that physically practiced daily.

In his published paper, Richardson explained that the most effective visualization occurs when the visualizer feels and sees what he is doing. In other words, the visualizers “felt” the ball in their hands and “heard” it bounce on the floor, in addition to “seeing” it go through the hoop.

Jack Nicklaus, in “Golf My Way,” published in 1974, is known for teaching that golf is only 10% skill while 90% is given to mental preparation. He would mentally rehearse difficult drives and putts through visualization, imagining them successfully executed. “I have never hit a shot, even in practice, without having a very sharp picture of it in my head. First I see the ball where I want it to finish, and then see the ball going there.” It’s hard to argue with legendary success.

This technique is seldom taught in corporate business circles likely because there is no perceived sport or competition. After all, what ball would you visualize going into which target and what muscle group would you visualize working to accomplish what strength tasks?

And yet, this very principle is the basis of Thought Tuning™, the power thoughts exert on physical and mental performance. As you change your thinking, your feelings change and as your feelings change, your behaviors change. What better place to learn visualization techniques than in a hyper-competitive business arena seemingly designed for winning and losing!

Like all top-performing athletes, using the visualization techniques of Thought Tuning™ will allow you to become a top career performer, achieving what you visualize for the future. But where can you practice this visualization? Consider visualizing a difficult conversation with your manager going perfectly well, imagining yourself speaking calmly and respectfully. Have a big presentation in front of senior leaders? Picture yourself in front of the group, standing confidently, speaking with assurance and energetic joy. See their faces interested and approving. Imagine God watching you earnestly with a supportive and loving presence. Have a big interview? Build a portrait in your mind of the interviewer thrilled with your skill set and answers. Visualize the interview going well.

These are just a few examples of how visualization can apply to your career. Give it a try.

Thought Tuning™ begins with the following essential understanding:

The way you think controls the way you feel. That’s it! It is that simple. How you feel is based on what you tell yourself about what’s happening, not because of what’s happening.

It’s easy to believe people or situations have the power to make us feel good or bad. How many times have you said that someone made you angry or upset? When a referee makes a wrong call, or someone cuts you off in traffic, or your boss mistreats you, it’s natural to say, “That person is making me mad!”

Can someone make you feel sad, happy, angry, afraid, doubtful, joyful, elated etc.? It may surprise you to hear the answer is a resounding, “No!” Although considerable data exists to support this claim, our own experiences in the workplace seem to ignore all the evidence. And yet it’s true. Consider the following three scenarios: A man and his dog, Christmas Eve and a sad movie.

You have probably figured out by now each scene portrays a situation where emotion and feelings are strong in one of the characters. The questions are meant to stimulate the idea that each set of feelings came not by the event itself, but by the perspective each person had about the event.

In Scene #1: A Man and His Dog, even if you say your friend was fearful because of a past dog experience, it may or may not be true. Some people get scared being around dogs even though they have never been personally attacked or even had a close call. Their fear comes from what they are telling themselves. They may be thinking, “Oh my, what if this dog gets off the leash and bites me?” And yet, one person not thinking that way feels just fine and wants to greet the dog. Both emotions come from what each person tells himself, not because of the dog. And if you lined 100 people up and conducted the same fear-of-dog scenario, in every instance each person would respond based on what they told themselves.

Scene #2: Christmas Eve illustrates a common experience we probably grew up enjoying. A child gets excited the night before Christmas. In this scene there are no gifts under the tree. But the little girls have a vivid imagination and just thinking about the gifts creates unbridled enthusiasm. It’s how they imagine the coming event that makes them feel this way. The gifts aren’t even there yet. And having this example is more poignant than the first since there is not even a stimulus (a large dog) in the scene. There is only the envisioned stimulus (gifts under the tree) that causes the emotional reaction. They anticipate the colorful wrapping paper, the cool toys, the wonderful unknown.

In Scene #3: Sad Movie, we have a blend of the two previous scenarios. Now, instead of a physical dog or just imagined gifts, we have actual film footage depicting some sad event. In this scene the character is watching images that have nothing to do with them at all. There is no physical dog present and they no longer have to imagine something not there (gifts under the tree). They are now watching someone else’s event unfold on a two dimensional screen. In this case, as with the previous two, different people may react differently. And in nearly every instance, the reaction will be a feeling of heaviness. Nothing actually happened to the movie goer and yet real feelings are elicited. By watching the tragedy on screen they have placed themselves mentally in the scene.

Rather than offer pages of research on the science around thoughts and behavioral triggers, this guide will only list general references. Several famous secular quotes support the premise behind Thought Tuning™ — thoughts control feelings which in turn control actions.

The most exciting point to consider is the connection of this principle to God and Christ. Many but not all scientists dismiss Christianity as fanaticism, absent of rational behavior. Progress on brain research and its effect on action tend to go unstudied in churches globally.

And for good reason, too. A slippery slope of false doctrine arises from asserting “thought changes behavior.” Some well-meaning Christians sadly combine religious philosophies of eastern teachings, scientific findings and loose scripture translation only to create half-baked conclusions. Such books as “The Secret,” “Think and Grow Rich” and “Law of Attraction” add similar confusion. Christians who come face to face with strong evidence of the power of managing our thoughts can get tangled up quite easily.

And yet it is important to understand the connection between our thoughts and actions. Let’s start with some of the many leaders in human history that connect thinking to life outcomes. (Note: Whether they acknowledge Christ as the foundation of this truth is not explored.)

The Bible is also full of amazing examples of how our thinking affects the outcomes of our lives. Some are very obvious and make the connection in a straightforward way, while others require deeper inspection.

This verse is a perfect illustration of the power of negative thoughts on behavior. This person is fearful. Thoughts of worry and dread and fear will likewise cause us to run away, shutdown, and pull back from life. Anxiety can make a person feel like they have been overtaken, overwhelmed… and they will run. It’s not hard to imagine an insecure man running from life even though no one is actually chasing him.

Here is another great example of how our own fears will cause us to feel overwhelmed, overtaken by life. Dread ends in defeat. And yet having righteous desires lead us to fulfillment.

This verse is something of a combination of the previous two and requires a deeper look. This is not a passage that says righteous people will be rich and wealthy. It does say, however, that a ‘sinner’ feels like bad luck is chasing him around, while the ‘righteous’ look at life with gratitude and see success and prosperity. Indeed, even when times are tough we as Christians know God is still in control therefore giving us a powerful life outlook.

We can also see the power of thought as the Bible connects thinking to the heart. The heart and the mind are words that can oftentimes be interchangeable in God’s word. The heart is the seat of thought. Consider the following verses:

We are extoled in the New Testament to maintain vigilance in our thinking. Although these scriptures don’t take the final step in saying outright, “If you change your thoughts you will change your whole way of life,” the inference is clear by the power of the directive:

What we ultimately want, as Christians, is to be transformed from thinking and acting like the world and become more and more like Christ. This is holiness defined. It’s a concept meant for every area of life, including our careers. The following section will clarify the power of Thought Tuning™ and how it can change your career and your life, forever.

Core values are qualities you consider not just worthwhile, they represent your highest priorities, deeply held beliefs, and fundamental driving forces. They guide your behavior and decision making. Most times, Christian professionals are not in touch with their core values even though every action, reaction, thought and behavior stems from these beliefs. We mistakenly think we are in touch with them because we strive to emulate the life of Christ. Yet core values more accurately define how you resonate with the external world and generally come from your earliest experiences.

They are also called “guiding principles” because they form a solid core of who you want to become in life as well as your career. And since you are in a constant state of becoming, knowing our core values will help you know more about who you will become.

Values form the foundation for everything that happens in your workplace too. We know most companies have Values Statements describing their corporate core values, but seldom do we seek to understand our own personal core values and how they motivate us daily.

When we don’t clearly define our core values, our careers only drift along the corporate river. Even for those whose careers are strong and growing, having knowledge of personal core values can create a greater resolve for Christ-like achievement. Knowing your core values allows you to base your decisions on a navigational sextant with coordinates for success. You will make choices based on purposeful intentions. Building a career in line with your core values brings purpose, direction and fulfillment. It will also allow you to find new levels of excitement in all you attempt and accomplish.

One of the greatest benefits to understanding your core values is knowing what pushes your buttons, what “seems” to cause you to react unproductively. This knowledge will help you make the best choices for professional growth one decision at a time, one thought at a time. Living in alignment to your core values will give you a great deal of confidence as well.

In the next section you will identify your core values using a simple and effective Values Assessment tool. Set aside about ten quiet minutes, and answer honestly: there are no right or wrong choices, only the ones that are truly yours.