Cause and Effect

It is a well-known equation. Do you cause things to happen? Or perhaps you sit on the other side of the equation? Leaders make things happen. They cause things to happen. Most of us spend the majority of our time on the other side of the equation, the effect side.

On the effect side, we allow ourselves to complain that ‘these things are happening to me because, ‘I was made redundant’ or ‘the taxman has hit me again’ or ‘if it hadn’t been for my ex-wife’

How about causing something to happen—it will demonstrate cause? It is certainly a more positive mind-set. e.g. ‘now I have been made redundant, I have the opportunity to’………(cause an outcome to happen), or ‘now I have been hit by the taxman, how can I cause a different outcome next time because this is debilitating?’

Tip. Look at our body shape. If I cause things to happen, my head is up, my shoulders are back, I feel good, I feel energised, I am in control. If I am at effect side, my shoulders are down, I feel resigned to an outcome which I have no control over, ‘it is someone else’s fault’ after all.

Tip. Stand in a place and look around you. Now, start bemoaning your lot. ‘if I had taken that piece of advice, I would be worth millions now’ ‘how come others manage their time better than me?’ etc. etc. Where are you? You’re on the effects side of course. Step two large paces to the left or the right.

Where are you? You are in a different place with a different view. It looks different, it feels different. Now you are on the cause side. So what are you going to cause to happen? It feels much better over here!