Cause and Effect For Personal Success: Mental Strength Tip #171

When we look at personal success it is achieved through the disciplined execution of a fully established personal development plan that includes the principle of ‘cause and effect.’

For us to progress in our human development we must take time to ask questions and contemplate various topics of personal growth, such as cause and effect, which is exactly the intention of these virtual personal coaching sessions.

I take a personal growth topic, in this case cause and effect, and give an overview about it.  Then I’ll continue by asking a series of mental strength questions for you to consider.  I’ll then wrap-up with a summary and some final thoughts.

Take your time with this topic, carefully consider your responses to the questions and write them down.  Personal growth is not supposed to be easy, it takes courage to face yourself.  But when you develop the courage and mental strength to do actually this, you will be building confidence.

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Objective of this Mental Strength Tip on Cause and Effect:

To train you to focus on the causing an effect instead of being the effect.

Let’s Get Started:

When things go ‘wrong’ it’s very human to want to assign blame – we think this helps us understand what happened and move forwards. And who doesn’t feel better ‘knowing’ the cause – especially if it’s someone else!

But in reality, although assigning blame helps us feel better, it also prevents us from seeing where we contributed to the situation. As long as it’s someone else’s fault, how can we empathize and have compassion for others? How can we prevent the problem arising again in the future? This is why drama always seems to find the same people.

Questions to Uncover Beliefs about Cause and Effect:

• What’s the advantage of identifying the cause of a problem?
• Why do you believe most people focus on the effect rather than the cause?
• Do you believe fixing the cause solves the problem?

Unsupportive Beliefs about Cause and Effect:

• Cause and effect are the same thing.
• The difference between cause and effect is semantics.
• It’s easier to fix the effect than the cause.

Mental Strength Beliefs about Cause and Effect:

• Fixing the effect and hoping for the best is wishful thinking.
• Identifying the case and solving it requires critical thinking.
• Thinking is a cause and behavior is an effect.

Outrageous Questions about Cause and Effect:

• What role has your thinking about cause and effect played in your success, fulfillment and happiness?
• What percentage of time do you attempt to solve the cause rather than the effect?
• What belief does the average person has that makes them focus on the effect rather than the cause?

Reflective Questions about Cause and Effect:

• If you had to produce evidence that you focus on cause rather than effect, could you produce enough of it?
• What could you do on the next 90 days to increase your level of awareness as it relates to cause and effect?
• What are you doing on a daily basis to upgrade your level of thinking around cause and effect?

Mental Strength Coaching on Cause and Effect:

So, when you start blaming or judging others, use this powerful mental strength metaphor and look at yourself in the mirror and then, ask these questions:

• How did I contribute to this situation? Where can I see that something I did or did not do made the situation worse for myself?
• If I were to relive the situation as someone who takes FULL responsibility for my actions and feelings, what do I notice?
• What signals could I have given to others (either explicitly or implicitly) that contributed to the situation?
• Where could I be more forgiving and understanding?
• What would I do differently next time?

Remember, this isn’t about blaming ourselves either – it’s about taking an honest look at what actually happened and owning our part in it. Not to then blame or judge ourselves – but to learn and grow.

Final Thought about Cause and Effect:

People with elite behavior believe that the world can be a better place, they believe that they deserve better and they actively engage, execute and improve. Most importantly, they believe they have a choice, they choose never to willingly accept anything that is handed down to them, they choose to question conventional wisdom, they choose to challenge the status quo.

Elite behavior is not a result for successful people. It is a cause – much like a pre-requisite. It is imperative not to confuse cause and effect because they are not the same. If a certain type of behavior leads to success, material rewards such as luxury cars, penthouses and pristine statuses are merely the by-products of success. It is not the cause of your success, much less the cause of elite behavior.

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