“NON IMPEDITI RATIONE COGITATIONIS” AND THE CAREERIST

What’s that? You say your Latin is a bit rusty? This extraordinary phrase comes from two of my Saturday morning heroes – Tom and Ray Magliozzi (a.k.a. “Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers” from Car Talk). If this does not connect with any of you, I urge you to tune in a PBS radio station in your area at 10 AM on the afore-mentioned day before their car advice (AND raucous Cambridge laughter) leave the airwaves. An absolute delight, they even include good automotive advice at times!

This Latin phrase is one of their deeply held credos. When asked how they are able to respond to call-in questions as quickly as they do, their response (translated into Latin for the more erudite among us) was “We’re ‘unencumbered by the thought process.’”

I’ve shamelessly adopted this as one of my mantras, to the point of having it emblazoned over the door to my office (to challenge myself as well as my clients). Why? One of MY deeply held credos is as follows: “We should think less and act more.” My most recent book review on Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind notes how “thinking less can make you more intelligent.” We often spend so much time thinking through options and potential outcomes that action never ensues. This impacts opportunities for all, since failure to act on something virtually guarantees failure to achieve much of anything.

To be sure, we need to engage what Hercule Poirot called “the little grey cells” as we move ahead in our work and lives, but I would humbly suggest that you include this Latin phrase in your “career toolbox” as well.

Don’t be so encumbered by the thought process! Think a little less and act more!