If you have followed my work for awhile, you know I am HUGE on nailing this decision-making thing.
And the reason is simple.
Decisions – good or totally crap – shape our entire life experience and outcomes.
If you make poor lifestyle decisions, poor food choices, poor friendship choices, poor habit choices, poor scheduling choices, poor reactional choices, then that stuff is going to have a SIGNIFICANT impact on your happiness, health, wealth and vitality.
Decisions matter.
They shape our Destiny.
So…wouldn’t it be a REALLY GOOD idea to get much better at it???
To be a 3-Dimensional (3D) Decision-Maker, as opposed to a 1-dimensional (1D) decision-maker.
Or even a 3D decision-maker, versus a 2D decision-maker.
Let me show you how to be a 3D Decision-Maker, so you make better decisions, and have a greater life and a more inspired Destiny.
The Basic 3D model
I have spoke on this subject before, but I think this framework will bring in home in a much stronger way.
When it comes to making decisions, the three biggest internal ‘tools’ or ‘players’ are your brain / mind (Head), your Heart, and your Gut.
They each have an important role to play, and each add an important dimension, to create the most well rounded and considered decision.
The HEAD (mind & brain), when used well is about recogizing patterns, using intellect and logic, and coming up with creative solutions and ideas on how to get something done.
The HEART is about deep wisdom that taps into the very depths of the river of life to let you know whether something is useful, important or worthy on your life path (i.e. it relates to your purpose or dharmic path). This is where we connect to something greater than our intellect. It is also the place that takes into consideration our ‘Values’, and alignment to them.
The GUT is a combination of about 100 billion neurons, and a sh#t-tin (probably trillions) of microorganisms in the gut that have evolved over millions and millions of years to know the difference between “for life” and “against life”. What will help, or harm, in this current moment.
The three used together make your decisions 3-Dimensional.
Head, Heart, Gut.
Here’s why…
Playing a 1-Dimensional game
Have you ever known anyone (and yes it might also be yourself), who has been guilty of being 1D in some areas of their life?
For instance, someone that uses ONLY their Heart to make decisions, when it comes to relationships.
They “follow their heart” even if it is REALLY REALLY bad for them because the person they are following their heart towards is a cocaine addict, or narcissistic, or really bad news, or has a long history of dumping their partners for no reason.
This could also apply to following your heart in work, projects, friendships, etc.; so it is not just about intimate relationships.
Instead of just using the HEART (following their heart), imagine the upgrade to their decision-making skills if they listened to their GUT, which is telling them to ‘get the hell out of Dodge ASAP!‘ because the gut intuitively senses something that is “off” (like rotten food), about this person, project, job or navigational choice.
Or maybe if the HEAD is consulted, the head would (logically) look at the track record of the person, project or job offer, and determine that there is about a 93% chance that this will end in complete disaster, because the historical record shows XYZ.
Playing 1D does not allow you to use all of our higher faculties, and also just leaves gaps or gaping holes, in your ability to make a sound decision.
You want to make decisions which are great in the short-term AND the long-term, have the highest probability of success, and have the least number and size of likely negative consequences.
1D Decision-Making cannot tick all of those boxes.
But, going 3D takes things to a whole new level.
Also in this case, the sum is MUCH greater than the sum of the parts.
3D is on a whole new level.
How to play a 3-Dimensional (3D) game
Once you own the idea of the value of going 3D, then the strategy really is quite simple.
The steps go like this, when a decision needs to be made:
1) What is my HEART telling me?
If the heart says ‘No’ at this point you could just pack it in right there, because if the Heart is not on board, then it may mean that this is not for you – even if you don’t quite intellectually understand why. It also means if your ‘heart is not in it’, then it will take a LOT more work to make things happens. Without the POWER of the Heart, it will take a lot more FORCE to achieve.
2) If the Heart says ‘Yes’, then ask yourself, what is my HEAD telling me about how I might achieve the best outcome?
This is where you come up with the best (and most creative) strategies, ideas, processes or approaches.
3) Then, in relation to your ideas, get the GUT to weigh in to sense if any of the ideas are ‘bad’ ideas and can be tossed out. What is your GUT intuitively telling you about the options you are considering?
You might have a sense that one idea is much better than the others, or a specific idea just feels off. Or that the approach is wrong. Or using a particular resource might ‘blow up in your face’.
4) Once things are more settled (it is a “Yes” from the heart, you have come up with some great options, and your gut has helped you filter the options for the most likely to succeed with the least negative consequences), do a final check-in with your HEART.
Again you want your heart to be all in, before you hit the ‘GO’ button. Is my heart still in it? Without the heart fully onboard it is a much more challenging, uphill slog.
Why don’t I ask my gut first?
Actually the GUT is the best thing to ask first if you are in a life or death situation, or a situation that could lead to physical harm, because it is the part of you most attuned to “survival“.
But the reality is, in a modern world, we are VERY RARELY in life or death situations.
98% of our choices, and decisions, are not immediate or survival related.
So when it comes to the majority of decisions, and ALL important decisions, I want to tap into the wisdom of my HEART, as it considers things in relations to the BIGGER picture; as in my life path, or dharmic path, or purpose in life, or reason for being.
There is a depth, calmness, and certainty at the Heart level, plus it is more attuned – to a greater distance – to the unified quantum field; so it has more access to information than the GUT for the bigger stuff.
For instance, I may feel ‘fear’ in my GUT, which makes me want to run away, but the deeper wisdom of my HEART tells me I need to transcend this fear as part of my evolutionary journey.
So the GUT is great for “survival” decisions, but not the big “Destiny” ones.
Make sense?
In Summary
Don’t use a 1D decision-making strategy, when a 3D decision-making strategy is so much more powerful.
The 3D model of high quality decision-making is to use our HEAD, HEART and GUT.
The order of application of the 3D Strategy is: HEART – HEAD – GUT – HEART.
The GUT is the best tool to use for immediate and physical “survival” decisions.
My Parting Words
Like I said at the start.
I have spoken about this ‘Strategy’ before, but I think delivering encased in this 3D vs 1D Framework, makes it much easier to understand.
We know ourselves when we go 1D and half-cocked in our decision-making, we have a very high chance of screwing up.
Or deciding to do something that in the short-term is fine, but in the long-term is a disaster.
Been there done that.
So I am a big fan of tapping into all of my God-given (or whatever your belief is) tools in this amazing mindbody of mine.
Going 3D is playing with a full hand.
You are a lot more likely to win if you use them all.
Convinced yet, or do you need another metaphor or analogy?
I am pretty sure you have got it, so I will leave it there.
Have a consciously integrated day and a week where you truly integrate this 3D way of showing up to reap the rewards.
Take care.
Carl
Quotable QUOTE:
“The 3-Dimensional Decision-Making Strategy is: HEART – HEAD – GUT – HEART.” Carl Massy
(Author of 18 Ways We Make Life WAY Harder Than It Needs To Be)
PS: Have you read or listened to this book yet? 18 Ways We Make Life WAY Harder Than It Needs To Be
