Press the big red button

Go on. You know you want to. Just press that big red button. Look at it. It's so inviting. And so easy. Go on. You know you want to.

And so the button is pressed in an impulsive blink-long moment of time, a hand outstretched, thumb-pushing movement that is complete before the thought that triggered it has even finished.

Now what? You can't unpress it. You can't roll back time. Whatever you have now done can't be undone. You pushed the big red button. It took a second and lasts a lifetime, or if you think about it for a moment, even longer, perhaps forever. One small decision, one minimal action, potentially massive consequences.

Pushing the big red button is just too easy, too simple, too alluring.

Too disconnected from the consequences.

So what does the big red button do? To what is it connected? What are the consequences? What is the pay-off? What is the comeback?

Here, then, is a little thought experiment.

Using the big red button as your starting point, think about the following questions and work them through.

 

1. How do you take decisions?
2. How mindful are you of the consequences?
3. What would you like the big red button to do, and to whom?
4. What does it feel like to be on the receiving end when someone else presses the big red button?
5. So what is going to be different from now on?