is.phpLIFE CHANGE – By the expert (as promised my interview with De Bono)

With many of his ideas on ‘thinking’ being used in such bastions of decision making as the White House and United Nations, I thought Edward DeBono would be a great person to ask about ‘HOW TO, LIFE CHANGE’

All Life Change begins and ends with our thoughts and the decisions we make – So learning more effective tools than the ones we have been struggling with would seems to be the first order of the day.

1 “People just don’t understand the power of tiny changes” DeBono said. “They are always looking for big effects. The most powerful changes of all are the ones so small you barely notice you have made them”

I Love this as it is exactly the process I started 5 years ago. At the time I had no idea of its effectiveness, I just knew I was hopeless at maintaining any big changes.

2 “Don’t over rate intuition, your power of self control or your focus – Humans are very fallible. We are easily influenced by outside forces that don’t have our best interests at heart. Plan out your life change using the 6 hat system”.

t4dwk84l3cbglyhtThe 6 hat system

Usually when we argue with someone we front up head on. Like some rock n roll wrestling grudge match. The trouble here is the best idea or plan seldom wins. What wins is the loudest, most aggressive or manipulative.

This also applies when dealing with our ‘fears’ and decisions about Life Change – Should I take the leap, Should I change partners, how can I stick to a diet, would I be happier if I quit etc

So to ensure the best plan, rather than the loudest or most fear driven prevails, the 6 hats system prevents head on clashes by asking everyone to discuss just 1 perspective at a time. The same one

HOW TO:- Remember when you were a kid and were told to put on your thinking cap – Well each cap determines what ‘type’ of thinking to do. Simply write down the related points about each of your decisions one hat at a time – At the end you will have a true picture and DeBono says this is when your intuition will  be screaming at you loud and clear, making the final decision a piece of cake (or not if it’s a diet)

  • hatsgraphic-300x285White Hat: – Write down the data (not emotions) you have available about the choices. Look for gaps in your knowledge, and either try to fill them or take account of them.
  • Red Hat:- Write down your intuition about the problem. Your gut reaction, and emotion. Also try to think how other people will react emotionally, and try to understand the intuitive responses of people who do not fully know your reasoning.
  • Black Hat:- look at things pessimistically, cautiously and defensively. Try to see why ideas and approaches might not work. This is important because it highlights the weak points in a plan or course of action. It allows you to eliminate them, alter your approach, or prepare contingency plans to counter problems that arise.

Black Hat thinking helps to make your plans tougher and more resilient. It can also help you to spot fatal flaws and risks before you embark on a course of action.

Black Hat thinking is one of the real benefits of this technique, as many successful people get so used to thinking positively that often they cannot see problems in advance, leaving them under-prepared for difficulties.

  • Yellow Hat:- The yellow hat helps you to think positively. It is the optimistic viewpoint that helps you to see all the benefits of the decision and the value in it, and spot the opportunities that arise from it. Yellow Hat thinking helps you to keep going when everything looks gloomy and difficult. Write down your thoughts
  • Green Hat:- The Green Hat stands for creativity. This is where you can develop creative solutions to a problem. It is a freewheeling way of thinking, in which there is little criticism of ideas. A whole range of creativity toolscan help you here. Write down your thoughts·
  • Blue Hat:- The Blue Hat is the hat worn by people chairing meetings. Keeping things in line and making sure its done right – If you are on your own simply think of the Blue hat as organising the tasks and ideas so you understand them

The hats can be used in any order and more than once if new info arrives. It can be done in your head or in a group.

IF YOU HAVE WRESTLED WITH A QUESTION ABOUT LIFE CHANGE – Why not try solving it with the hats

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