Paying Attention is our Best Investment in the Future is a major tenet of Curing Seriousitis™ for a multitude of reasons.
Paying Attention allows you to repeat strategies that work and delete strategies that don’t work.
For example: How Not to Repeat Mistakes Strategy.
First define a mistake. From our cinema careers let us remember the director saying, “Cut. That’s a miss take.”
A mistake is an ‘Unintended Outcome’ that I can take responsibility for.
Here is a current example: While I am painting the house requires a lot of ladder work. The house is over 100 years old and there is dry rot that has broken from leaning a ladder against it. Not a mistake. But not leveling the ground on which to set the ladder, and having the too full can of paint fall, along with the painter, is a mistake. Painful and expensive.
Step two is How Did I Do it?
I am 100% responsible for what I do. I have a pattern of rushing, going too fast. My rationale is to hurry to get the project over so I can have fun. I can rationalize, justify, excuse rushing, but not with danger, and a can of paint in tow. What else could I have done? I need to see my alternatives, different outcomes. To realize it is faster to level the ground beforehand than clean the spilt paint and heal my bruises from my mistake. I can do it differently and still be fast. I can remember how I have seen others handle the situation using their experiences as a guide.
Step two identifies the cause and how I created the mistake.
Step three Decide I can do it differently.
Deciding is crucial! Next time my criteria are to be safe and save money, while also to decide I can be quick. Deciding to do it differently saves me from my self-directed anger, and the pain I feel upon hitting the ground. Saves me from my self-abasement and believing the stinking thinking belief that is the way I always am. I can decide I have choices; it is not preordained that I make mistakes. The decision is better than cursing, blaming, and getting hurt.
Step four It is not enough to know what I do not want to do, but what I want to do.
This is where there is a difference between an ‘insight’ and change. If I do not change, I can repeat the mistake, hope I never have to use a ladder again, endure more trial and error. My new decision allows me to gain control and create consistent improvement. This is the positive ‘doing’ step.
Step five to ensure I do not make the mistake I must now go into the future, using all my senses, see myself using the ladder, leveling the base, hear myself
internally repeating my positive decision for speed, safety, and economy. Most importantly I see and feel the job going smoothly, finishing quickly, without self-
incrimination of ladder-stupidity. I have created a COMPELLING FUTURE.
This is my future test to stop repeating mistakes.
Paying Attention is our best tool for creating the future we want.