Tag Archives: reaction

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Don’t Let Fear Overwhelm You

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Our actions can be motivated by many factors both internal and external.  Our environment and other people can exert a strong influence
Fear driven behavior might not be the most appropriate, in these cases, it is best to take time to think through your options although this is often easier said than done given the presence of a sense of urgency.

Think

Some of our reactions to danger are an innate action and can be hard to control, in some cases controlling these is not the best option.

However, in many circumstances, taking the time to contemplate our fears will produce much better outcomes.  We cannot always control our external influences but how we respond is within our ability to manage, just not always easily done.

Allowing our fear or anxiety to take control of us and dictate our behavior might achieve acceptable results but in those cases, it is purely by accident.  Retaining control of your destiny at all times is a much smarter approach.

Choose

While sometimes external factors are out of your control, you can always choose how to react.  Overriding instinctive action is difficult and occasionally not appropriate but generally more satisfying.

Without a doubt, our choices are influenced by circumstances.  Picking the best alternative for any given situation, sometimes at the moment, is often overlooked due to expediency or just because the effort appears too great.

In reality, taking time to get it right is always a high-value proposition and worth the effort.  Avoid being stampeded by your fear, you won’t regret it.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Reaching Understanding

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It is not unusual to misinterpret or misunderstand incoming communications.  What we hear, read or see is impacted by our personal filters.

The way we develop our thinking processes and behaviors have been demonstrated to be strongly influenced by our environment (i.e., nurture vs nature).

Adversarial Reaction

My own sad experience is frequently we react based on what we understood.  This can often be critical or derogatory and insult the communicator.

They do not immediately conclude the issue is not disagreement but rather a misunderstanding.  Responding or questioning ideas or thoughts of others based on your perceptions is normal, however, to be effective the probing should be open-ended.

Otherwise, it is not unusual for the discussion to become an argument.  I am fascinated by how frequently these arguments are resolved by both parties acknowledging they are saying similar or identical things, just in different ways.

Seek to Understand, then React

Although it is not always the natural way to respond it usually results in a more collaborative discussion when clarifications are crafted as seeking help rather than questioning what has been shared.

An example of this approach could be  ” When you describe X, I am a little confused about the detailed expectations and rational, can you provide a bit more explanation”.

As opposed to “That is stupid, makes no sense, this is what I would do”.  Ultimately the resolution to the differences could just require a better understanding by all parties of the issues, recommendations, and associated benefits or drawbacks.

Before reacting, give it some thought.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Proactive or Reactive

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Generally a pro-active response requires more effort than just accepting the default or status quo approach.  Reactive reponses generally have an urgency associated with them  and are often more like a band aid.

That is they cover the problem temporarily but do not necessarily resolve it.  A pro-active approach requires planning which in itself adds effort.

Default, going with the flow or reacting do not involve any preparation.  Planning is not effortless, but the results are typically more satisfying.

Effort, duration, results

Spending more time and effort should produce better results.  This applies regardless of the product or service. However there is a caveat, both time and effort must be productive.

The act of just spending time or randomly acting on anything may or might not be effective.  The better approach is for it to be thought out (i.e., planned) for maximum effectiveness.

Pro-actively planning the approach, what, when and how is far more likely to result in successful achievement of the objective.

Repeatable and Sustainable

Another often overlooked benefit of the while thought out action is the ability for yourself and others to repeat it over a long period and expect consistent results.

This is the underlying concept of many activity models like ITIL, CMMI, Cobit or 6 Sigma. These models provide a framework for planning.

Ultimately the pro-active approach produces better quality, time after time.  This concept can be applied to anything you do whether it be a trip to the grocery store or a trip to the moon.