A few days ago, while watching my robotic lawn mower doing its lines, I googled “How to store carrots properly?” – and right at the top, I got an AI-generated answer: “No plastic wrap, store at around 2°C, and possibly with a damp cloth around them.” Well… what grandma used to know, we “younger ones” often don’t anymore. And since grandma’s knowledge is now online, we simply use that. Grandma 2.0.
Or is it not just about making life easier for you… but also about slowly getting us to stop thinking for ourselves? Because while more and more things are being done for us, we’re losing something essential: our own thinking. So let’s take a look at why true leadership begins with thinking for yourself again – in a world that increasingly thinks for you.
In the past, we used to think. Today, we ask AI. Instead of approaching things with logic and experience, we google. Which is totally fine. The real question is: What do we do with the time we gain?
Often, we waste it. On social media, news tickers, or things that drain more energy than they give. And then something interesting happens: We see what others have – and we don’t. We hear what’s going wrong – and suddenly feel it ourselves. And just like that… you feel bad.
So when do you feel bad? Whenever you focus on things you don’t want. That’s what negative emotions really are: A focus on the unwanted. “But Norman, I am focusing on what I want.” Even that can lead to negative feelings.
Why?
Because deep down, you’re still thinking: “I don’t have it yet.” And that thought creates the feeling. Because a feeling always follows a thought – never the other way around. And this is exactly where true leadership begins. Because if you don’t lead your thoughts, you don’t lead how you (lead yourself).
Then you lead from reaction. From pressure. From what you’ve read. From what “everyone else is doing.” But not from yourself. Self-leadership is not about knowing more tools. It’s about awareness. Is this really my thought – or did I adopt it? Because this is how decisions are made. And this is how cultures are created.
Now let’s talk about the solution: The only reason you can feel bad is because you’ve felt good before. Without that reference, there would be no comparison. Makes sense?
If you feel stressed, you also know what relaxation feels like. So in that moment, become aware of both: Stress and relaxation. And then make a decision. Not reacting automatically.
But consciously choosing. Bring up the feeling of relaxation and decide to stay there just a little longer. That is self-leadership.
We need to start leading our thinking again. And stop handing it over completely to institutions like media, social platforms or politics. Because much of it directs your focus toward fear rather than clarity. And fear has always been an easy way to control people.
Be aware. Choose consciously what you allow into your mind – and what you don’t. And if you ever have the choice between fear and love: always choose love. But to do that, you need to consciously guide your thoughts. So yes, sometimes it really helps to think for yourself again.
Just like with the carrots. What I see: In a plastic bag, they sweat and go bad. What I know from experience: Things stay fresh longer in the fridge. 1 + 1 = 2. Pretty simple. And it’s exactly the same with your thoughts. You know what’s good for you – and what isn’t.
The moment you feel something, you already know what you must have been thinking. You can’t control everything from the outside. But you can control what you make of it inside your mind. Give your thoughts space. And give them direction.
A few days ago, I simply made a carrot-ginger soup right away. That way, I didn’t have to think about storage anymore. You see: there’s always more than one way.
