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Payoffs and Consequences
September 25, 2006
For every action, there's a payoff and a consequence.
One is usually easier to see than the other, but they're both always there, regardless of our orientation or passion in life. If it's our passion, we get so excited that we fail to see the consequences. If it's our orientation ("Do you see the glass as half-empty or half-full?"), we can get stuck into inaction because of possible consequences.
How does one navigate through daily decisions and actions, knowing that there's always a payoff and a consequence?
For some, it's a numbers game: how many payoffs vs. how many consequences. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't. Is life really just a game of odds? For others, it's a game of minimizing consequences. For example, "Although I know that it will make my staff angry, I'll do it anyway and then make it up to them later". Risky business!
And yet for others, it's a game of blind faith. "If I don't see it, then it isn't true/it won't happen". Pray for the blind.
I always admired and valued the person willing to make a decision, no matter what, so I adopted this approach in my own life many years ago. I decided that making no decision was weak and destructive. If there was a decision to be made, I made it. Little did I see that my own directedness and focus was so sharp and energetic that people, feelings, and relationships often lay in my wake ... of disaster. I got to where I intended, but there was often a huge cost associated with getting there. (Just ask any former staff members.) I would say I was blind to the consequences, wouldn't you?
Knowing that there are always payoffs and consequences, what would be some guiding principles? The truth is always simple, so let me remind you of some of them:
1. Always tell the truth. As it's been said for thousands of years, "The truth will set you free." Stick to the truth. Again, stick to the truth.
2. Stay in integrity. What's integrity? Integrity can be defined as "the quality of possessing and steadfastly adhering to high moral principles or professional standards"; "the state of being complete or undivided"; and "the state of being sound or undamaged". If you're acting out of integrity, you'll feel it in your gut, so stop the mind-games.
3. Be mindful of the payoffs and consequences. Do not act until you can see both of these, because they are there. Think thoughtfully and acknowledge your intuition.
4. Drop your ego. Egos ALWAYS get in the way. Look at any situation that brought about a less-than-desirable result. You will see that someone's ego caused the problem. Don't let your own ego get in the way.
5. Be sensitive and caring of other's feelings and situations, but do not accept responsibility for their life or career. Too often we make a decision because we want to please everybody or we're afraid we'll cause trouble in someone's life. Get past that; you have got to do what's right for you.
It's important that you don't isolate any one of the above truths in the decision-making process. You must use them all!
What parts can you be more mindful about in your decision-making process?
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