Sometimes I feel that decisions are being made without results being realised. Often I hear my clients and colleagues talking about the decisions they have made only to later discover that little or no gain has resulted. You see decisions are only part of the journey and it’s time to be sincere about useless decision.
There’s a story that I love to share with my corporate clients and at conferences. It’s simple and yet it speaks volumes for how we interact with our thought process around decisions. One day there were three birds sitting on a wire and one of them decided to fly away. The question is, how many birds are left on the wire and why?
Decisions are conclusions or resolutions reached after consideration. What makes a decision effective it not the decision at all. You can make lots of decisions and reap no positive benefit. The reason for this is that a decision without action may be useless in reaching the intended outcome of the conclusion or resolution sought.
The reason why decisions are so important in all areas of your life is that they assist you to create a forward direction in areas of growth. This could be in career, health, family, relationships, emotional well being and life dream fulfillment. Decisions also free you from circumstances that you want to move away from and avoid. This may include making decisions about limiting beliefs, actions, unresourceful relationships and job that brings you no joy or lifestyle choices that are unhealthy. What counts even more with the purpose of making a decision is the action that follows.
The word decision was first coined in the 15th Century in France, from latin and was translated to mean “to cut off” and to settle a dispute. Rationalising in decision making was theory developed by the Greek Philosopher and Mathematician Plato and was used and developed extensively in the work of US political theorist Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). Interestingly in his bestselling book published in 1970 Alvin Toffler popularised two terms that have a unique correlation with the challenges I find in how individuals are overwhelmed by decisions and actions today. These terms are infobesity and infoxication. Both were defined as meaning information overload. In the 1970’s Bandler and Grinder the founders of NLP found that the prime directives of the unconscious mind included that the mind needs repetition until a habit is installed and is programmed to continually seek more and more. Knowing this it’s easy to appreciate why acting on decisions is not always easy in the world you live in.
In taking action, the doing part is the most important aspect of any decision. This involves a journey. Being sincere about useless decisions is appreciating that no decision is useless. The only aspect that makes it so is a lack of action. Stepping into action needs to be deliberate a repetitive. The unconscious mind forms habits from repetition and is symbolic. The symbolic nature of the unconscious mind is perhaps one of it’s most powerful resources to be harnessed. I am not going to create an action list here, I am going to suggest that the most incredible book you may ever read is, “The Greatest Salesman in the World” by Og Mandino. If you are ready to take action on your decisions then this is your cue.
For some people decisions and actions may need a different approach. If procrastination is a strong theme then Matrix Therapeutic Coaching (Pip McKay, 1980) is a great resource for clearing childhood programming, beliefs and behaviours that may be in the way of transforming decisions into action.
I need to ask you a question. How many birds are on the wire now and why? What are you telling yourself? The answer is that there are still 3 birds on the wire. You see the bird only make a decision, it did not take action. This means that he is still sitting there with the other 2 birds.
Seeing yourself soar freely in the direction of your decisions is all about your actions. You are probably telling yourself you can do this, because you do it and have done it all your life. Do more of it and you’ll feel the immense benefits even more.
Madelaine Cohen Author
Lipstick Learning is an initiative of Sydney based business leader, Certified NLP Trainer (ABNLP), entrepreneur and Master NLP Practitioner Madelaine Cohen. Madelaine runs NLP Practitioner Training Courses in Sydney and Melbourne. If you would like to learn NLP you’ll find more information at madelainecohen.com. Madelaine shares information and joins forces with people who choose to lead. She has more than two decades of inspiration from her businesses in consumer products, sports marketing, executive coaching and healthcare. She takes a leading role in mentoring executives and training business leadership in large and small enterprises. Why? Inspire people to lead and together we can create lifetimes of health and happiness. To find out how you can lead with even more authenticity and ease, contact Madelaine through Lipstick Learning.
Madelaine welcomes connection & networking so if you have something to ask or share, go for it.