Monday, December 10, 2018

Think Before You Act BUT Interrogate Your Thoughts





.3 Seconds. That’s the time it takes between having a thought and acting it.

To an Olympic athlete, .3 seconds can be the difference between a gold medal or none. To an ordinary human being, .3 seconds can be the difference between thinking a stupid thought and being fired.

What can you do in those .3 seconds? Ask yourself...why you are having that thought? What emotion are you feeling? Threatened, weak, alienated, angry? Do you want the person in front of you to respect you more, like you more, or just plain go away? Is this thought or idea that you are about to act on or speak really even your thought or is it an old societal or cultural belief that you’ve adopted?

Just asking yourself one of those questions could save you from doing or saying something you’ll regret. And if you’ve asked the right question, you may discover another way to deal with your fear or need for respect.

Olympic athletes train constantly to erase the .3 seconds that separates them from competitors or even their own record. Shouldn’t we train as diligently to make good use of the .3 seconds that separates us from doing or saying something that could potentially ruin our lives?

In the next .3 seconds ask yourself, how much better off would you or your team be if you knew how to communicate more effectively?

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