So you want to know how to make better decisions? You want to learn to be more decisive and better prepared? Read on and enjoy using the rule of three and I look forward to your feedback on how these tips have helped you.
Recently, I was having lunch with a friend and the conversation naturally flowed into what we each do for a living.
Personally, I have tremendous respect for my friend and what he does and it is a great feeling when this admiration and respect are mutual.
Upon comparing notes we realized that much of what we do relates to being guides.
Guiding is a kind of communicating that helps the person or people feel support as they do what they need to do.
So rather than force or threaten or bribe people to get their work done or to make certain changes in their lives we simply guide them.
We help them find the best way to get the job done.
You can lead by example, which my friend and I both agree is best because you believe in what you are saying and doing and the person or persons can feel this confidence and that can make all the difference.
They trust you more and follow your lead while learning how to be better leaders themselves.
A company is only as strong as its weakest link so this method helps everyone be their very best.
As I like to say, it helps you to BE Your BEST SELF! Another topic that relates to trustworthy guidance and leadership is flexibility and decisiveness.
Much of what I do and have done with clients over the years fits in nicely with what my friend does.
In fact they have something they call the "Rule of Three" which is very similar to many of the concepts that I have shared with people.
Regardless of whether it is in a business situation or social setting there are skills that you need to have.
When you have no idea what to say or do then you tend to freeze like a "deer in the headlights".
This is because the releases a stress hormone called adrenaline and this natural chemical tends to force you into tunnel vision and the infamous flight or fight or freeze syndrome kicks in.
You will either freeze or over react as if your life were in danger.
Meanwhile it was just a social situation or business meeting and yet your over charged response to this stress may have jeopardized your chances at this job.
You are potentially ten times stronger and faster yet you are not thinking clearly at all because of the sweaty palms, nervous butterflies in your stomach and the jitters that are shaking your body.
This is why it is so vital that you are prepared and that you plan ahead for the most likely situations you will find yourself in.
That is why I focus so heavily on being able to bounce back from stress and to manage it more efficiently.
You get to learn how to have a few moments of stress and then you bounce back to a more centered and balanced state of mind and body.
From this more balanced state you can make better decisions.
You will be more proactive instead of reactive.
This same fight, flight or freeze syndrome also holds true for having too many options and decisions.
Maybe you have heard of "option anxiety"What do I do? So rather than having no idea what to do or being overwhelmed by too many options you can narrow your choices down to the best three decisions for any given situation.
By training and conditioning yourself to limit yourself to three choices you start to make this a healthy habit.
So regardless of what you call this concept you can now read this article and put this powerful technique into place immediately! Take a few minutes and breath and relax and notice yourself starting to relax a bit more.
Now think of a decision that you need to make within the next week.
Take a few moments and imagine three possible outcomes to your decisions and notice which one is the best decision.
I usually take this a step further with my clients and add in a few steps where they get to experience the impact of their decision in their future.
Then we also make sure they get to feel the impact of their decision from the other person or persons point of view so they can really make very wise decisions.
This way you learn to make wise decisions and you have taken into consideration how your decisions may impact other people involved.
This is all much easier when you can adapt a kind of zen like calm where you bounce back to a more centered and relaxed state despite a sudden shock or unpleasant experience.
You breath and relax and regain your logical rational mind while being able to also tap into your powerful subconscious mind.
These parts of your mind and body work together as a powerful team helping you to achieve your objective and to complete your mission in the most efficient manner possible.
So go ahead and play with this powerful concept and come up with three plans of action and game out the reactions, responses and the impact of your decision along this path of action.
Do you get the results you seek? At what cost? Is there a better way? Go through the same scenario using a different decision and plan it all the way through.
Do you get better results and with less negative impact on others? Great! Have at least one more course of action set up and ready to go.
Step by step go through how your decision and actions cause the next chain of events to flow and notice what you are seeing, feeling, hearing, etc.
With practice this can take just a few moments and you will be able to plan out how your decisions effect others and which decision or decisions help you achieve your objective in the most effective way possible.
You will be learning to become more clear headed and to make wise decisions.
Imagine the possibilities...