[Neurons] 2020 Neurons #5 PLANNING & UNINTENTIONAL CONSEQUENCES

[Michael Hall]

From: L. Michael Hall 

2020 Neurons #5

January 26, 2020

2020 Vision series #4


 

PLANNING

AND UNINTENTIONAL CONSEQUENCES

 

When it comes to setting goals, planning, estimating time frames, costs,
etc., we often forget to take into consideration unintended consequences.
And why do we forget to take these into consideration?  Mostly because they
are not obvious.  They are not a part of the information that's available to
us.  Additionally, they are estimates about what could go wrong which
typically we do not even think about when we are putting together plans to
achieve something.  Our focus is on what to do, not on what to avoid.  It is
not on what could go wrong, what we are not thinking about.  We are focused
on strategy, resources, personnel, implementation, etc.

 

Additionally, another problem with unintended consequences is that our focus
is on intentional consequences - the effects that we imagine that will
resent when we achieve our goals.  That is, after all, why we set goals in
the first place- we seek to do what's required in order to get the desired
effects (consequences) which will result from reaching our outcomes- effects
experiences like happiness, relaxation, confidence, etc.

 

An old statement that's often quoted asserts that "The pathway to hell is
paved with good intentions."  We intend well.  We have the highest
aspirations and the most noble intentions.  Yet sometimes in spite of the
good intentions, bad thngs happen.  That's the unintended consequences.

 

Unintended consequences takes several forms.  One form arises from having
every intention of eating right and exercising regularly, but then "life"
happens.  Excuses are used, plans are put off, and we find ourselves
suffering from our poor eating habits and lack of exercising habit.  We
suffer obesity, diabetes, etc. and wonder why these consequences since we
had the best of intentions.  That's one form of unintended consequences.

 

Here's another.  We set out to create wealth and to establish a stream for
passive income for later in life.  In the process, we work 80 hours a week
so that our family will be provided for and safe.  What we didn't expect was
that we would lose the family.  We did not expect that a wife (or a husband)
and children would not feel loved or that perhaps would leave.  Or if not
physically, they would leave emotionally and relationally.  Unintended
consequences in spite of good intentions.

 

An unintended consequence, that I suffer today, arose from putting my focus
on spreading NLP and Neuro-Semantics around the world.  As that occurred and
as it succeeded, I eventually was away 80 percent of the time for many, many
years.  Then as I started cutting that back to 70 percent, and 60 percent, I
discovered that nearly all of my friends and acquaintances which I had
cultivated for 12 years before closing shop on my therapy practice and going
on the road - they had died, moved, or somehow got lost in the shuffle.
Consequently, today I am very much a stranger in my own city- a place where
I have lived and paid taxes (mostly paid taxes) for 36 years.  I didn't
anticipate that.  Today about the only people I know in Grand Junction are
business associates- people I hire to do various things.

 

Unintended consequences represent a hidden but new powerful aspect in goal
setting.  Typically you have to specifically ask about them and search for
them because they are usually not readily available for your reflection.
It's what you need to do to avoid missing the unintended consequences.  It's
what you need to do to avoid getting blind-sighted by consequences that show
up in surprising ways and in the most inopportune times.  What unintended
consequences should you check out today?  Of the goals you've set, what are
all of the possible results that could occur? 

 

 

 

 

 

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Neuro-Semantics

P.O. Box 8

Clifton CO. 81520 USA

www.neurosemantics.com    look for the special offer

 

Author of the stunning new history of NLP--- NLP Secrets.  

Investigative Journalism which has exposed what has been kept secrets for
decades. 

http://www.neurosemantics.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/NLP-Secrets-2_sml2.
png

 

 

 

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist8.pair.net/pipermail/neurons/attachments/20200126/3aa54dfd/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 137551 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://pairlist8.pair.net/pipermail/neurons/attachments/20200126/3aa54dfd/attachment-0001.png>