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Cause or Effect: The Choice is Yours
Every aspect of your life comes under two categories: things you are at cause over and things you are the effect of.
You can be at cause over your job, relationships, habits, money and future . . . or you can be effect of those things.
When you are at the effect of something, it upsets you. It gives you problems. You don't like to talk about it.
For example, a car mechanic might be very good at fixing radiators, but not very good at brake systems. He looks forward to radiator jobs. He knows every type of radiator that exists, and can fix or replace them quickly. Customers never come back with radiator problems. He is at cause over radiators.
But whenever he gets a brake job, he slows down. He can't find the right parts, can't get the parts to fit and smashes his fingers. He is at the effect of brakes.
As another example, a certain fellow is shy and cannot talk to women as he is effect of women. He may spend all day thinking about them, but turns red and looks down whenever a female talks to him. Once he learns about the mechanics of communication and how to make women feel comfortable, he starts to be more at cause.
If you own or manage a business, you oversee hundreds of duties. You are at cause over a duty if you can do it to professional standards. You are at cause if you can train others on that duty and easily improve their performance. You are at cause if you enjoy the duties of the job.
The points of your business that put you at effect are your biggest problems. You are at effect of a duty if you avoid it, ignore it or pretend it's unimportant. You are at effect of a duty if you rely on others to deal with it for you.
Employees who are at cause over their job or position are the ones who make the most pay, get the most promotions and have the most fun. Employees who are at effect of their positions are the ones who hate their jobs, never earn bonuses or get fired.
The same principle applies with any area of life. If you feel stressed by taxes, legal issues, relationships, housekeeping, finances, goal setting, children, your health or anything else within your life, you are at effect of these things. These are the points that are slowing you down and stopping your success.
You Succeed When You Are at Cause
L. Ron Hubbard devised a simple way to get more at cause over your job (post).
"Write down any and all points where one feels he is NOT at cause over his post.
"Then . . . look at points one after another where one can be at cause.
"One's vision of this gets bigger and bigger.
"And one comes to cause over his post.
"Try it." -- L. Ron Hubbard
Seven Steps to Become More At Cause
1. Choose one area of life you want to be at cause over.
For example, you want to be a better worker and make more money, but you have never held a job for more than two months.
2. Write down every point of that area that you feel you are not at cause.
So you list ten points at your job where you are not at cause. For example, you don't know how to use your computer, you can't arrive on time, you don't like your boss, your chair is very uncomfortable and six others.
3. Choose one point for which you can be at cause. Write down what you can do to get at cause over it.
You decide you can be at cause over your chair. You can get a pillow to make the chair more comfortable.
4. Repeat with any other points on your list you feel you can be at cause.
For example, you also decide you can make yourself arrive on time, if you make it a higher priority.
5. Write a plan to get at cause over these points from your list.
6. Do the plan.
7. Continue this exercise until you are succeeding in that area of life.
In the job example, your pillow makes your chair much more comfortable. Because you make it a higher priority, you arrive early for work five days in a row. You feel better about your job and decide to ask your boss about getting some computer training at night.
Your boss notices you are showing more initiative. You learn to use the computer like a pro. You earn your first bonus . . . .
When you are at cause, you feel stable, confident, calm and powerful. You make steady progress toward your goals.
Take a few minutes and try this approach today!
Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here. |
