Reader question:

Please explain “think big”, as in: “Don’t be afraid to think big.”

My comments:

This is a good question.

That is, for all of us to ponder about.

Whenever people ask you to “think big”, they mean for you to be ambitious.

In other words, have big dreams.

As the old saying goes, as you think, so shall you be. American philosopher Wayne Dyer says that we’re what we are today (you know, each with our little peculiar problems, wink-wink) not because we dreamed too big and hence failed to make those big dreams come true, but because those dreams were too small and have all been realized.

Think about it. I think it’s true.

Anyways, the point is, dreams do come true. And so why not dream big? Why settle for less?

When the Houston Rockets drafted Yao Ming back in 2002, they immediately upgraded their marketing motto to Think Big to capitalize on Yao’s physical bigness (a 7-foot-6 frame) as well as his all-round skills as a big man. Right now, of course, Yao’s still languishing in rehabilitation from foot injury and the Rockets have been, well, languishing with him, but you can’t fault them for their ambition.

True, we’re not going to get what we want sometimes (injuries are part of a player’s career, in Yao’s case), but there’s nothing wrong with thinking big.

And so, think big, will you? And think new. I mean, don’t always think about the same old, same old. We are what we think about. Most people don’t make as much progress as they would like to because they tend to think about the same thoughts they had yesterday.

Or yesteryear, for that matter.

The universe is a changing universe. Change (transformation) is the theme of life. And yet people, especially well-to-do (wealthy) people want to stay the same, as people with status (in positions of political power) want to retain the status quo.

Only for them to find that, all of a sudden, they’ve changed from being young to being old and haven’t participated very much in this thing called life.

I’m not saying, you see, that they’ve not changed. They have – growing old being one of the changes that’s happening all the time, quietly and without cease – just that they’ve not been in control of the change. They have been passive. They need to be active. They need to take the initiative. They need to row the boat of life rather than letting that boat take them where it drifts to. Rich people, for instance, need to make changes to owning that wealth (Bill Gates, for example, decides to give half of it away) and politicians need to keep reforming the system instead of merely trying to hang on to it. Truth is, keep seeking change and reforming the system and they will better hang on to it.

Anyways, tomorrow is a new day. After tonight there’s a new dawn. Come January first, it’s a new year.

Why should you be the same, same old?

Alright, without running the risk of being accused of sounding pushy and preachy, let me simply wish you this: Think big and think new.

I mean, happy holidays.

本文仅代表作者本人观点，与本网立场无关。欢迎大家讨论学术问题，尊重他人，禁止人身攻击和发布一切违反国家现行法律法规的内容。

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About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

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（作者张欣 中国日报网英语点津 编辑陈丹妮）