ZERO Based Thinking: Learning to Let Go
LET’S face it! We take action, we make mistakes, and we keep moving forward. That’s life! Many of our decisions in life will be wrong, but how do you know you’ve made a mistake, if “emotions” rule your mind. That’s why most people are great at giving advice, but not so good at making decisions.
That’s where Zero Based Thinking comes in, an amazing thinking technique developed by Brian Tracy, which is defined as: “Knowing what I do now, would I still make the same decision?” If the answer’s “No,” then it’s time to get out. In psychology, this concept is similar to Sunk Cost bias.
A Sunk Cost is a cost that you’ve paid already, and you can’t recover it, but you shouldn’t let the cost affect future decisions. Internet marketer Charles Ngo explored this concept in his blog article “How to Make Better Decisions Using Zero Based Thinking.” Let’s ponder on three of the salient points on how you will do things differently if you have a choice.
- Relationships
Ngo said: “Many of my friends are in their late 20’s, and are at that stage of their relationship where they’ve been with their girlfriend for 2+ years. On one hand, their significant other is pressuring them for possibly marriage, but they’re not sure if they’re ready to settle down,
“If they ask me for advice, I will them about zero based thinking. If she wasn’t your girlfriend, would you get into a relationship with her again?
“I’m not encouraging people to end relationships. I’m just telling you to think deeper,” said Ngo.
- Minimalist
The New Year is coming and it is time to clean-up the house again and throw some old stuff away. But for some of us, it may be difficult to do, as we’ve spent money, or have emotional attachment to those items. Ask yourself, “Would I buy this item again?” Go through your closet and ask this question for every piece of clothing you’ve bought. Whatever you wouldn’t buy again, give it to charity. You’ll be more organized and cleaner this way.
- Business
Someone you know developed an iPhone app. He put a lot of time, money and effort into it, but it never took off. Finally, a job opportunity came and he had to make the decision. Should he keep focusing on the app, or take on the job? Finally, he killed the app and took the job offer, and his life was better for it. Was he a quitter? No. In fact, he is better-off now as he has cash coming in, and is working on another app during his spare time.
Some people are horrible gamblers, and even when they are down on money, because they keep insisting on playing to “get their money back.” You can use Zero Based Thinking to improve your life decisions, as you gain wisdom, and sometimes that wisdom will tell you that you made a mistake.
“We can’t change the past, but we can make better decisions for our future,” said Ngo.
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