Every action and feeling is preceded by a thought, as James Allen wrote in 1904 (Source). This insight has also been poetically formulated by Mahatma Gandhi:
“Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.” (Source)
In the realm of personal development, most authors would agree that our thoughts have a profound influence our lives, including our health, relationships, finances and ability to realize our dreams. Examples of key literature on this topic are Napoleon Hill (“Think and Grow Rich”), Dr. Wayne W. Dyer (“Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life”), Bruce Lipton (“The Biology of Belief”), Joe Dispenza (“You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter”), Mary Morrissey (“New Thought”), Louise Hay (“You Can Heal Your Life”), Rhonda Byrne (“The Secret”) and Lissa Rankin (“Mind Over Medicine”). With these many examples, we often associate the power of thoughts with personal development, life coaching and alternative medicine. Yet, it is actually a cornerstone in several other professional fields too, such as sports and business performance. Earnest & Young, for example, refers to the role of our thoughts on their website with sentences such as “Businesses are on the brink of a talent crisis. Only a major shift in thinking can help tackle the global talent shortfall.” (Source)
Shifting our thinking is also a precondition for progressing towards a circular economy. The notion of a circular economy builds on the idea that we need to rethink today’s predominantly linear economy, which is characterized by a “take-make-dispose” mentality. Essentially, we need to rethink our design practices, choose renewable energy as opposed to fossil, think in systems, and think in cascades, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (Source, italics added). The Foundation’s video “Rethinking progress” emphasizes the same message: “There’s a world of opportunity to re-think and re-design the way we make stuff.” (Source) Or as Dame Ellen MacArthur said in an interview with MacKinsey&Company (2014): “If you can understand what a circular economy is, if you set that as the goal, then you know that every decision that you make within your business can take you one stage closer to that point.” (Source)
In other words, we begin by visualizing in our mind the desired goal; not as a blurry image but a vision in greater detail. We continue by questioning our present beliefs, values, thought patterns, routines, past actions and future plans, to arrive at a new understanding of our present reality. Thereafter, we can gradually begin to change our thought patterns and behaviors to move forward with a new set of goals and strategies with a new desired future in mind.
With such reasoning applied to the fashion industry, we may start by visualizing what a circular and sustainable fashion industry may look like, with an attempt to make it a clear and detailed vision. We then proceed by rethinking our present vision, goals, commitments, strategies, practices, measures, action plans etc within the company. New thoughts will hence begin to take form in our minds about what we wish to accomplish and what steps would best serve those ends. New choices can be made and new action steps taken.
In summary, through self-reflection, analysis, visualization, brainstorming, communication, priority making, goal-setting, collaboration, dedicated work etc. we can together create the world that we wish for ourselves and others. Regardless of our goal, positive progress always begins with a willingness to change our habitual way of thinking.