At one time or another most of us have been asked the question:

is the glass half full or half empty?

Prevailing wisdom has been that optimists see it ½ full while pessimists see it ½ empty.

I provide a third answer. More on that in a few paragraph.

 

Too often people discard options at the start of their decision making process.

They think an option: won't work or it's too hard or too expensive or

any number of other reasons so they discard without exploration.

          Eliminating any option before listing it & reviewing it with all others may prove to be a fatal mistake.

What seems at casual glance to be too hard or unlikely to work

at closer inspection & when compared with other options may actually be the best option available.

 

Back to the glass above.

How many of you discarded a third option that the glass is neither ½ full nor ½ empty?

Rather it is both!

Part of it is ½ full at the same time another part is ½ empty.

Seems silly, but look back at the last decision you made & consider whether you

eliminated options early making your process & outcome all the harder.

 

And NEVER eliminate an option that you consider a step back.

 

A client I had was going to quit school 1 semester short of her business degree

because her resturant job demanded too much of her time & attention.

She had risen from waitress to hostess to her current position as assistant manager.

When asked about options she said she couldn't think of any except to quit school.

Further questioning revealed she had eliminated an option:

Her employer was willing to move her into a vacant hostess position with an income she could live on.

 

She at first steadfastly rejected that option telling me being a hostess meant she was "going backwards".

It was only when I pointed out that this "step back" allowed her the flexibility she needed to continue to go forward that she agreed to take that option, take that step & again become a hostess, continue school & graduate.

 

Picture standing before a wall so tall & stretching so far to the left & right that you can't see which way to go

to the door that you know is there, somewhere.

You have only one chance to get it correct. Which direction do you choose?

Taking a step back gives a view that shows the door far down the left.

That's not an option most would consider even though it is not a backward step & it gets you where you want to be.

So remember to list & consider ALL OPTIONS before starting your decision making process,

no matter how limited/limiting they first appear.

 

Until next week I'm off this floor. Got options to look at & decisions to make. Marta