Decisions, decisions, decisions. Don’t we all wish we could be better at making them? They are at the backbone of everything we do. When you think about it, they can often be the difference between a poorly managed day and a greatly managed day. This means training our brain to think and reason effectively becomes fundamental if we want to thrive in our personal and professional lives. In fact, according to science, our brains experiences 20,000 moments in a day!
No doubt our lives can feel complex, as there are so many factors out of our control which end up impacting how we experience things. However, navigating the difficulty of our daily challenges is something we can all learn to do thanks to mind tricks known as mental models.
Mental models are designed to challenge our thinking by helping us welcome new perspectives and improve our ability to think creatively and effectively. There are hundreds of mental models out there, but for the purpose of this article, I’d like to share with you 3 that work wonders when dealing with adversity or challenging situations.
By putting them into practice, you will be able to develop greater emotional intelligence, resilience, and analytical thinking — all essential skills for personal and professional flourishing.
1. Inertia
There are times when our best intentions don’t align with our actions. We know the best option might be the one with the greatest benefits in the long run. However, when we are presented with something easier, things get a lot trickier.
Deep inside we would love to go for the “good option” but we somehow feel there is strong force pulling us away from that decision: welcome to the power of inertia, one of the great laws of nature!
Meet Maria. It’s 5 pm on a Friday, and she is about to finish work. She has two options: Option one is to scroll through her social media feeds and call it a day. Option two is to finalize that important report on how to improve the customer experience, so that on Monday she can start working on her new deadline. Which option is she going for? The report right?
“Of course not, are you kidding me!? You really think I am going to spend the last 30 minutes of my work week doing something so intense? I’ll do that on Monday.”
Understandable. But is it really what is most useful for her growth?
The point here is not to discuss whether her choice is right or wrong, but rather if that choice is the most useful.
So the challenge here is to fight your inner inertia. Next time you find yourself in a similar position, take the time to ask yourself: What is the most useful choice? What is the “cost” (or, if you prefer, opportunity) for my growth of taking the simple option vs the difficult one?
Nobody is perfect and we might not able to always resist temptation. However, just marginally improving our inner inertia “score” can go a long way. In fact, studies show delaying instant gratification can bring us greater fulfillment and long term success.
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2. Five WHYs
There is no doubt life at times can feel like a massive puzzle full of problems to solve.
We all know that during our time at work we can easily get caught up in daily problems and challenges. Our inability to deal with them effectively can make us feel overwhelmed or confused, which ultimately impacts our ability to get to the root cause of our problem. Specifically, when we try to come to terms with a particular result we did not expect, we tend to get frustrated and look at things superficially.
That is where asking WHY can become a powerful “insight unlocker.” This approach, also known as the five WHYs, was made famous by people at Toyota who used it to solve a production issue. What’s beautiful about this approach is it forces you to be honest with yourself. And while it can feel frustrating at first, it’s a great way to strengthen your reasoning.
So the next time you experience an undesired outcome, use the five WHYs method to get to the root cause of the problem. Don’t stop until you have found a satisfying answer (sometimes it can be less than five). You will be pleasantly surprised!
3. Flipping the coin
Emotions, emotions, emotions…don’t we all get carried away at times? They undoubtedly can make us feel like we are on a roller coaster. We experience them continuously throughout the day — whether it is feeling excited about a potential business lead, or stressed about having to confront a family member.
Emotions are simply a feedback mechanism of how we are experiencing a particular event. There is no right or wrong, it’s just how we choose to perceive things!
Emotions are the result of a subjective and temporary state of mind. Therefore, it’s important to become aware of them in order to understand what’s most useful to us. In this process of self-awareness, it’s key to learn how to take a step back and not overindulge in our emotions, as they can often lead to poor decision making.
So the next time you feel worried, stressed, frustrated about a particular activity or task, take a moment and ask yourself: What can this event teach me? How can it make me better? What is there that I may not be seeing that could actually serve me? How can I be grateful for what is happening to me?
Mental models have the power to change the way we think. Use them to experience greater clarity, balance, and fulfillment in your day.
Work smarter, live consciously!
A passionate entrepreneur with a relentless aspiration to understand what makes people tick , Filippo is the cofounder together with his wife Marilena of 3SSENTIA, a smart day planner inspired by the science of wellbeing that helps busy people manage their day with more balance, focus and purpose.
His background in hospitality combined with his profound interest in subjects such as behavioural science, neuroscience, psychology and human computer interface inspired him to dedicate his efforts in developing technologies that provide “experiences for good”. Filippo is a believer that technology, if used consciously, can have the power to accelerate our evolution and flourishing as human beings. And that is exactly what his mission with 3SSENTIA is: creating a platform aimed at collectively expanding our consciousness and sense of purpose.
Filippo also runs Leap2yourbest (www.leap2yourbest.com), a 2-day personalised coaching program for entrepreneurs wanting to expand their personal and business growth.
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