Got decisions to make? That’s your cue!
I’d been struggling to make some decisions that needed to be made so I tapped into Zero-based thinking (ZBT)* to help me out.
ZBT is a decision-making process based on imagining yourself back at the point before particular decisions were made, and free to make those decisions with the knowledge that you have now about their outcome.
So, I asked myself this question regarding the situations that were awaiting my decisions…knowing what I know now, is there anything I am doing today that I wouldn’t do if I were starting over, if so, how do I get out of it and how quickly can I get out of it.
With this thought in mind, I decided to stay married.
Seriously though, what I did decide to do was to step down from the boards I was on. Yes, I had made a commitment; yes, I would disappoint people; yes, I would feel bad, guilty, etc. etc. I still did it.
And, the world kept spinning.
(Will someone please remind me that I am not cut out to be on boards. I am so thankful to those of you that are but please never ask me to be on one again and if you do, for heaven’s sake, don’t let me say yes! )
Enough about me, how might ZBT play out in your life?
Perhaps you are dating someone and you aren’t sure you should continue the relationship, take it back to zero…if you weren’t dating them now, knowing what you know now, would you start?
Perhaps there is someone whose work is unsatisfactory but you aren’t sure if you should let them go…ZBT thinking might ask, if you had a do-over, would you hire them at this point in time?
Perhaps you have a membership to an association or a club, you’re not sure it’s worth the money…you have a lot more information than when you first joined, go back to zero if you had this information then, would you have still joined?
If the answer is no, no or no then how can you get out of the situation and how soon can you get out.
It’s not always easy to get out of the situation, but waiting doesn’t typically make it better, and the pain of staying is often worse.
While you are thinking about it, enjoy this < 90-second stress reducer!
ZBT, it’s one more tool for your toolkit! Steph : )
*I believe the original attribution is to Brian Tracey.
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