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[转载]10-10-10
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Today is a special day in the US. It is October 10th 2010 or usually written as 10/10/10 ( a lucky day of significance). Many couples are getting married today for good luck. The today edition of the e-newsletter-Bottomline featured an interesting and useful article which I reproduce below:
The 10-10-10 Strategy for Making Better Decisions
Suzy Welch
Most of us have trouble making decisions, especially difficult ones. And when we do make a decision, we often wonder if we made the right one. Bottom Line/Personal interviewed noted writer Suzy Welch on her powerful new "10-10-10" strategy for making better decisions...
Why we go wrong
The human mind is wired to be more concerned with current comfort -levels than with long-term consequences. Thus when we make decisions, we often act as if the future doesn’t exist -- or at least, as if it doesn’t count for very much. Psychologists refer to this tendency as "hyperbolic discounting."
Example: A busy man is asked to spend hours working on a project. He says yes -- even though he knows that he either will have to sacrifice something more important to him or back out of this new commitment later. He tells himself that he said yes because he wants to help. In reality, he said yes because this nets him thanks and praise, which allows him to feel good about himself right now. Saying no would force him to endure a few minutes of guilt and discomfort.
Some people manage to overcome this tendency and focus on long-term goals -- but even these seemingly responsible planners can go wrong. The long-term consequences of our actions often are unknowable. When that’s the case, making decisions based on only the perceived long-term consequences means living life based on guesswork. Besides, those who always sacrifice near-term happiness for long-term priorities never get to enjoy today -- and there’s no certainty that we still will be here tomorrow.
Example: A man worked the four- to-midnight shift for years because it offered extra pay, helping him toward his goal of a secure retirement. He rarely saw his family. He died before reaching his retirement age.
THREE TIME FRAMES
A better way to make decisions is to employ a 10-10-10 strategy. When faced with a crisis or decision, write down each of your options, followed by the consequences of each option in the following three time frames...
The next 10 minutes
Which option will make your life easiest and happiest right now and in the immediate future? How unpleasant will the coming minutes (or hours or days) be if you choose a different alternative?
Example: Going along with your spouse’s plans avoids a fight, making the coming minutes more pleasant.
The next 10 months
This often-overlooked intermediate time frame is crucial. Ten months is long enough to be significant... yet close enough to predict with some accuracy.
Example: A man is trying to decide whether to quit his job and start a business. He knows that quitting will feel liberating in the next 10 minutes... but it’s very difficult to predict whether his business will be a success in 10 years. This man can weigh whether the long hours and huge risks of starting a business will get him out of bed energized for the next 10 months or keep him up nights worrying... and whether his marriage and his savings will survive 10 months of long hours and limited income.
The next 10 years (or longer)
Which option points you toward the life you want to live? Which will stand in the way of your long-term goals?
Example: Overeating now puts you on course to look and feel worse in 10 years than you do today.
Money-wise strategy: When decisions involve spending, consider not only how much you will use and enjoy the purchase in 10 minutes, 10 months and 10 years but also how much the money spent would be worth in 10 years if it were invested. An investment that earns 7% compound interest nearly doubles in 10 years.
If all three time frames point to the same option, your decision is made. If not, you might have to compromise. You don’t always have to sacrifice short-term happiness for intermediate or long-term success, but you do have to be honest with yourself about what you are giving up when you choose near-term gratification.
GET HELP
When you confront major decisions, involve others in this process. Ask friends to supply their honest projections of the long-term consequences of each of your options. Also ask if they can think of any options that you missed.
Don’t solicit input just from friends -- they often think the same way you do. Also ask acquaintances who have shown that they make choices different from your own. Such people can provide new perspectives.
KNOW YOUR VALUES
To be successful, "10-10-10" should be coupled with an understanding of one’s values. Many people have never really considered what’s most important to them... or lie to themselves about their priorities. These people are susceptible to the two deadly G’s of -decision-making -- listening to one’s gut and succumbing to guilt.
The following questions can help you get to the heart of what you really want...
What would make you feel like a failure at your next milestone birthday?
Example: A woman struggling to balance a family and a time-consuming business answered, "If I let the business fail." Many women let guilt convince them that they must put family ahead of career. In fact, working hard is one way to set a positive example for children. Plenty of children grow up happy and well-adjusted even though both of their parents work.
What do I want people to say about me when I’m not in the room?
Example: If you would like people to say that you’re a square dealer, you had better disclose the problems with your used car to potential buyers.
What do you love about the way your parents lived... and what do you hate?
The way we live our lives can be a reaction to the way our parents lived.
Example: A man who answers, "I disliked the silence in my parents’ home," could make decisions in his own relationships that encourage openness.
Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Suzy Welch, author of 10-10-10: 10 Minutes, 10 Months, 10 Years -- A Life-Transforming Idea (Scribner). She is a columnist for O, The Oprah Magazine and coauthor, with her husband, former GE CEO Jack Welch, of "The Welch Way," a column in BusinessWeek. Based in Boston, she is former editor in chief of Harvard Business Review. www.suzywelch101010.com.
https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-1565-371986.html
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