Say you are thinking about starting something…like a project at work.
Why not make it easy on yourself by stating up front, “I have 3 choices”.
“I can:
- Start, finish & fail or
- Start, finish & succeed or
- Start & quit without finishing.”
Make an agreement with yourself…
“One of those outcomes will happen. Regardless of which one, I will learn from the experience.”
Certainly – your desire will be to Start, finish & succeed.
Regardless, the reality is:
Human beings fail at things regularly.
Human beings have control over their Actions.
Human beings have less or little control over the Results of their Actions.
And:
Failing is not ‘all negative’.
Failing is a necessary source of education.
Long-term success happens when we learn from a string of failures.
When we experience situations and choose Action, regardless of our optimism, realism illustrates we will fail from time to time. And we will quit from time to time. Rigid perseverance of Action on its own does not bring Success.
The Main Point: blind faith in Success is destructive. Optimism bounded by realism is the best way to approach situations. And, Action is essential.
***
I spend time creating ritual thinking.
What’s that mean?
It means I spend time trying to reduce situations to 3 things/options.
Why?
Answer: I know I can manage to keep track of 3 things and I know I can choose between 3 things.
If I have a 3-piece ritual to cover the most-common situations I face then I find my confidence is as bolstered as it can be.
This is an example of what I mean when I say, Seek Simple.
When we face most situations we can make good decisions if we give ourselves 3 choices. [see Footnote 1]
Why not 1 or 2 or 4 or 5 or more choices?
Because:
- 1 thing is the easy way out…while 1 thing is simple it isn’t prudent…it reeks of bias
- 2 things are better…still simple, but limited options…as if things can be sorted ‘right’ & ‘wrong’
- 3 things are best…
- 4 things are too much…at least, for me, I have found a diminishing return in using ‘personal brainstorming’ [see Footnote 2]
- 5 things are too too much
What’s that got to do with Start?
Well Start is essential.
Start = Action = Essential.
***
The
Start ritualworks like this…
- You say to yourself, “I have 3 choices: I can start, finish & fail, I can start finish & succeed, or I can start & quit without finishing. Regardless of the outcome, I will learn something”.
- You decide on Action, confident you will do your best.
- You Start the Action.
Footnotes:
- Obviously, if the situation is urgent then you will not want to overdo the up-front ritual. Similarly, if the situation is routine then you will not want to overdo the up-front ritual.
- Edward de Bono provides a great tool for brainstorming. The tool can be used for ‘personal brainstorming’ and group brainstorming [as brainstorming is normally defined]. The tool is Six Hats.
You can couple a Six Hats process with the above Start ritual. That will ensure you make high-calibre decisions and implement them with an open and confident mind.