Be Your Best

Eventually, just about everyone is involuntarily involved in a major disaster at some point in their lives — and hopefully not more than one or two.  My wife and I experienced and survived Hurricane Iniki when we lived and worked in Hawaii.  Very scary.  This past weekend, we experienced first hand another major disaster — the massive flooding and Dam Break at Lake Delhi.

Just like a Hurricane, there was advance warning that there was going to be a problem coming.  However, you really never know exactly how bad that problem is going to get.  Unfortunately, it got pretty intense, and much worse than anyone expected.  It was beyond comprehension.  The warnings were communicated at about 11:00 am on Friday July 23rd.  By 3 PM, the water was 4 feet above normal.  By 9 PM, the water was 6 feet above normal.  By 5 AM the next morning, the water was 10 feet above normal, and rising.  By noon, the water was 14 feet above normal, and still rising.

When I woke up to the situation (I had actually slept a little better than I had anticipated I would), I immediately went into a mode of ‘Decision-Action’, and ran outside to check on the status of our neighbors.  Water was all over the place, and some houses were already 1/2—2/3 under water.  I went to the house that was closest to the edge of the rising flood water and ran inside to begin helping remove their furniture and possessions.  When that house was done, we moved on to the next house in the path.  And so on.  Then, immediately off to get sand bags.  For about 5 straight hours that day, there was no delay between making decisions and taking action, which is what ‘Decision-Action’ is.  Decision and Action were fused together.  There was no time for over-analysis or doing more research.  And things do get done quickly and efficiently in this mode.

Your Threshold for Decision-Action:

Your ‘threshold’ for Decision-Action is the point at which you move into a mode where there is essentially no delay or time between a Decision and Action.  You make a decision, and boom, you are instantly taking action on that decision.

Why is this Decision-Action concept important?

Essentially, the more you can operate in Decision-Action mode, the better, in terms of achieving goals and objectives, or solving problems.  Most of us are rarely fully in this mode, or are in it a very low % of the time where the stakes are medium-to-high at work or in our personal lives .  Super successful people typically have a lower threshold for Decision-Action, and operate in that mode a much higher % of the time vs. the average person.  Consequently, more stuff gets done.  More Cost Savings get implemented, more Suppliers get reduced, more innovations get introduced and completed, and more problems get solved.

Decision-Action is not about short-cutting or sloppy analysis.  Analysis and research happens before the Decision.  Decision-Action is about taking action immediately after the decision has been made.  How many times have you made a decision and then delayed taking action or possibly never taking action — and then you missed an opportunity or the result came much later than it could have or in smaller amount than it could have?  Yes, it’s possible that taking immediate action after the decision can result in a negative outcome occasionally vs. waiting.  However, studies have repeatedly shown that taking less time between decision and action results in far more positive outcomes than negative.

If you can lower your threshold which puts you into a decision-action mode more often, you will get more done, achieve greater success and results, and reduce your stress.

How do you lower your Decision-Action threshold?  The simplest way to do this is to increase the sense of urgency for more things you are involved with: create more self-imposed deadlines (shrink and define the time allotted to complete tasks and projects), think about the negative consequences (pain) of not getting something done vs. the positives, and create more shorter term goals (always written down).

Just starting to focus attention on this concept of Decision-Action, and becoming more aware of when you are making a decision but then waiting to take action, will improve your results.

Be Your Best,
Todd D. Gifford

Todd Gifford - Success Coach

‘Hervae’, our family Hamster died this past month.  Very, very tough on Megan, our 8 year old Daughter.  Hervae’s cage was in her room for all 3 years of Hervae’s time with us, and I am convinced that his spinning ‘running’ wheel noise actually soothed her to sleep every night.  Everyone was very sad, but our girls actually bounced back a little bit when I mentioned that we would hold a funeral for little Hervae.  Lots of tears were shed, but it was nice, and it was the first funeral they have ever been to.  This event, as any event like it, reminds us that life is short, and you only get one shot (as far as I know) at it.

Hervae’s funeral got me thinking about how time flies by, and that fact reminded me of a list of “10 Ways to Stay Young” that I read from George Carlin some time back. These also strike me as great ways to maximize ‘life’ on this one-way journey we are all on.  See what you think:

• Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.
• Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
• Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. ‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.’ And the devil’s family name is Alzheimer’s.
• Enjoy the simple things.
• Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
• The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
• Surround yourself with what you love, whether it’s family, pets, keep sakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
• Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
• Don’t take ‘guilt trips’. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, or to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
• Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND, ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. We all need to live life to its fullest each day!!

The ‘life is short’ thing really reinforces a couple of important points.  First, it is really important to jot down a list of goals or ‘things to get done during life’.  And second, it is super important to keep a personal focus on what is important to you.

Goal Setting: (Your Life ‘To-Do’ and Want List – the compass)

Although I talk about setting goals a lot and spend a fair bit of time on my own goal setting, I never feel that I do it enough.  The reality is that this process of dreaming up and writing down (somewhere) goals [aka: things to do or get done before I die (or sooner)] should be a constant, never-ending process.  Crossing things off that are completed, crossing things off that you don’t care about any more, and adding new things — should be happening all the time.  It’s not a New Year’s Resolution thing or a once/year thing —- to be really effective and meaningful, it should be a daily/weekly process.  It does not need to be pretty, but it’s gotta be near by so you can see it once in a while.  Oh, and get some ‘Due Dates’ on there too!

Personal Focus: (the Engine)

If setting goals is the compass for maximizing life, then Personal Focus is the engine that makes life go the direction the compass is pointed.  It is so easy today to be in constant distraction mode (often referred to as “multi-tasking”).  Distraction and lack of focus, whether it be at work or in your personal life, wastes precious time and dilutes your ability to get important things done.  If it is not moving you toward your goals, question whether it deserves your valuable time.  If it is causing you grief and wasted time (like a poor performing supplier!), then take action to change that situation so you can focus on your most important objectives.  There are all kinds of ways to free up your time from distractions to make life more productive, but you have to buy into the concept of: “Accomplishment” is more important than “Activity”.

Be Your Best,
Todd D. Gifford