The power of positive “What if…” thinking with Donna Reade

Every week, I read Donna Reade’s Titans of Virtual Bookkeeping Sunday newsletter. It’s thoughtful and actionable. The February 26 edition was a special surprise because it talked about the power of positive “What if…” thinking and it featured Uncat!

In Donna’s words:

Do you allow your brain to engage in positive “what if” thinking?

 I have been engaging in “what if” thinking for years to help me build my resilience and adapt to new situations as they arise in my world both as a human, as an Entrepreneur and as a business owner of a Solo Virtual Bookkeeping Business. 

Of course, it is very and I mean very important to strike a balance between “what if” thinking.

Use “what if” thinking to consider challenges you are having, and then develop strategies to mitigate them. 

After practice you will build confidence in your ability to handle whatever comes your way.

Here is a specific example of how I used “what if” thinking to take a challenge I was having in managing my client workflow.

It was taking me hours of time and my clients were not responding to my questions about unknown expenses & deposits.

At the time I had a very well developed GSheet that was set up for each client but it was constantly breaking down for many reasons.

So I asked myself “what if” there is an app/software that would connect with QuickBooks Online that I could use to speed up the process and send the client scheduled reminders. Of course, it would have to be easy for my clients to use and cost effective. Not free but cost effective.

In October (every year) I do deep work on refining my client workflow. I began my search to find an app/software that would fit my criteria. I was certain that there was a solution that would save me time and frustration.

I did demo’s with several companies and landed on Uncat.

That led to a series of “what if” questions so that I could customize Uncat, migrate it into my workflow and train my clients. Now all my clients use it and they love it. It saves me hours of time and frustration, plus my clients write notes so I can help them make better decisions. 

This is just one very specific example of how I use “what if” thinking to better my business.

Everyday I ask myself “what if” many times a day to figure out challenges and my answers help me to adapt to the challenges of the day and upcoming days.

So go ahead, allow your brain to think POSITIVE “what if” thoughts - it just might lead you to your next great breakthrough.