10-10-10 and Decision Making

July 15th, 2016

This is my last blog until August 1st. I will not be writing during my mother-in-law's visit to our home.

I have been reading about a decision making technique called 10-10-10. When you have important decisions to make in your life, you ask yourself what impact your decision will have in ten minutes from now, in ten months and in ten years.

This seems simple but, as the book describes, it forces you to examine your values. I know that for myself, life changed after having my daughters. My goals were no longer the same. Therefore, I had to identify my new values in order to make a satisfying decision. I knew that I wanted to be present for my daughters, married to my husband into old age and healthy enough to enjoy my life. Those values are what led me to leave a well-paying, toxic job to stay home with my daughters. Those values guided me when I decided to work through every single issue that arose between my husband and I.

We all have different values based on our upbringing, our experiences and our temperament therefore the same decision will not have the same outcome for two different people.

This past week, when a friend's husband suddenly passed away, I was shaken. I thought about my days spent cleaning the house instead of playing with my children. I reconsidered my food choices and lack of exercise. What if I had a heart attack too. Would it be worth it just to eat those chips or that cinnamon roll? I imagine myself growing old, fit and active in my community. I always see myself as an elderly woman, doing yoga, barefoot, on a beach. That's not going to happen if I'm stuffing my face with salty and sweet treats.

Whether your decision is about work, love, parenting, health or personal growth, the 10-10-10 formula will take your values into consideration and force you to look at the big picture. Author Suzy Welch, presents a variety of case studies and shows the reader how analyzing the short term and long term consequences of a decision allows people to gain some distance from the situation, explain the decisions to others and involve them in the decision making process.

Try it out for yourself. Think about a decision that has been weighing you down. Create a general list of your values. Then, consider the impact of your decision in ten minutes, ten months and ten years. To me, the ten years timeline is always the telling part. It's helpful to describe the ten year scenario in writing, to feel what that outcome would be like and create a collage.

Anne Walsh
www.artnsoul.org