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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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Big Changes, Difficult Changes...never Impossible Changes

by Rick Baker
On Apr 22, 2014

"It is very difficult to make really big, important, life-changing decisions because we are all susceptible to a formidable array of decision biases. There are more of them than we realize and they come to visit us more often than we'd like to admit."

Dan Ariely

'The Upside of Irrationality' (2010)

 

While, in relative terms, it is easy to make small, less-important decisions these decisions too are affected by our biases. And these small decisions too can be life changing.

Here's why/how they can be life changing:

The small changes happen bit by bit over time. We have a word for these changes. We call them "habits". Some of them are good; some of them are bad; all of them change our lives by influencing our thoughts & actions and by influencing how we are perceived by others. To the extent the small changes are founded on emotions they contain more lasting power. So, small changes - especially those small changes that grew out of an emotional base - have the ability to influence our thoughts & actions for long periods of time.

Big decisions & small decisions and big changes & small changes: all can contribute in long-lasting ways to develop a person's character. [In fact, when you stop to think about it, what else contributes to the building and maintenance of a person's character?]

Regardless, it is possible for people to make permanent & positive adjustments to their character.

Yes - easy to say, difficult to do...

One simply needs to commit to creating better habits then do the repetition of thought & action required to generate and solidify those better habits.


Thought Tweet #982

by Rick Baker
On Apr 22, 2014

Thought Tweet #982 When growth is stalled, many argue in favour of the status quo; fear of change often trumps common sense.


The Thinking Behind The Tweet

This is not a horrible dysfunction, it's just an all-too-common bad habit.

Why would a person not want to take chances, make changes, and grow?

Perhaps we should first explore the extent of their Fear of Criticism and their Fear of Poverty...see Napoleon Hill's 1937 classic, 'Think and Grow Rich'.

Linked to Fear of Poverty - according to psychologists, we fear losing existing things more than we desire gaining new things. Fear of loss outstrips desire for gain by a factor of about 4-to-1.

Do you feel that way?

Do you favour the status quo over change?

Copyright © 2012. W.F.C (Rick) Baker. All Rights Reserved.