Are you facing a tricky decision? Or between two to 100 conflicting feelings? Then the 10-10-10 method is exactly what you need now.
We have already noticed it one time or another: Life can be quite complicated. All the impressions that flow into us every day, the expectations that others have or seem to have of us, the demands with which we put pressure on ourselves, … – the list does not end there. To top it all off, we have to make decisions all the time, some of which are actually quite important. For such cases, the US business journalist and author Suzy Welch has developed a method that can really help us to find the right way: the 10-10-10 method.
This is how the 10-10-10 method works when making decisions
The 10-10-10 method should help us to think about the consequences of a decision and, ideally, to become clear about it. The core of the method lies in asking yourself:
- What is the impact in 10 minutes if I choose A?
- What will be the impact in 10 months if I choose A?
- And what will be the impact in 10 years if I choose A?
And then you should do the same for the other option:
- What are the implications in 10 minutes if I do NOT choose A?
- What are the implications in 10 months if I do NOT choose A?
- And what will be the impact in 10 years if I do NOT choose A?
Of course, in order to be able to use the method, we first have to get it clear in our heads what problem we are actually facing and what options we have to solve it. It is best to formulate a question that is as clear as possible, e.g. E.g. “Do I ask my manager to make an appointment to talk to her about what’s bothering me and making my work difficult?” or “I’m going on vacation to the sea with my girlfriend, although I’m more interested in it at the moment solo adventures in the mountains?”. This question allows us to run through the two different scenarios and see their impact on the medium to long-term future.
Why not just listen to your gut feeling?
Of course, especially when it comes to very complicated decisions, our gut feeling can also be an excellent guide. After all, it consults all our conscious and unconscious experiences and often recommends the right path based on them. But sometimes our feelings tempt us to make a decision that makes us happy quickly and in the short term and is the easier one at the moment, but which we would most likely regret in 10 months or five years. And we can prevent that using the 10-10-10 method.
In addition, our intuition can sometimes be quite difficult to understand during emotionally restless phases. When frustration, anger or sadness rages within us, it is almost impossible to hear what exactly our gut feeling is trying to say. In this respect, the 10-10-10 method is a good support, with which we can also question and classify our feelings: Is my anger just a temporary mood that I should let pass or from which I should distract myself, or do I have to react and do something to make me feel better?