It’s called the 10-10-10 rule. Best-selling author and business genius Suzy Welch explains how it makes the right choice suddenly obvious.
Have you ever gotten the feeling that you’re not living your life—it’s living you? That was me about 10 years ago. I was so determined to have it all, all the time—perfect marriage, great job, adorable kids—that I placed myself at the center of a whirlwind of “yes, yes, yes”. My make-everyone-happy gig came to a head when I had the brilliant idea to make my kids along on a business trip to Hawaii. I thought, I’ve cracked the work-life balance code! But nothing went as planned. My daughter got sick on the 12-hour plane ride. My son got heatstroke. As if those mini disasters weren’t bad enough, both kids escaped from a hotel-run hula class and burst into the middle of my big client presentation. Suddenly I knew the hard truth. If I didn’t make better choices, I was going to fall apart.
这被称为10-10-10规则。畅销作家兼商业天才苏西•韦尔奇解释了如何作出正确的选择。
你是否曾经有这种感觉：不是你在支配生活而是生活在支配你？大约十年前我就是这样。我曾决定要处理好生活中的一切事情——完美的婚姻，不错的工作，可爱的孩子——因此，我对所有的事情都说“是，是，是”。我所谓的要使人人都开心的策略达到了极致——我曾经美妙地打算带上孩子前往夏威夷进行一次商务旅行。我认为我已经破解了令工作、生活平衡的秘密！但是计划并不如人愿。在12个小时的航行中，我的女儿病倒了，儿子也中暑了。似乎这些小灾难还不足够糟糕，我的两个孩子从旅馆经营的呼啦圈培训班上跑了出来，突然出现在我的大型客户讲座中。我突然意识到事情的严重性。如果我不作出更好的选择，我就会崩溃。
Rethink Your Thinking
Soon after that trip, I came up with a strategy I call 10-10-10: it’s a way to sort out every complicated decision by assessing the impact it’ll have on your life in 10 minutes, 10 months and 10 years. If I’d left my kids at home, for instance, in 10 minutes they might have been pouting. But in 10 months I’d have been able to take them on a proper vacation with the money I’d earned. And in 10 years we’d all have forgotten that I’d even been away for three days way back when, avoiding all the insanity in between.
Right away, I started applying the process to whatever crisis of the day was driving me crazy, and since then, I’ve discovered that it honestly works for every kind of dilemma, in love, at work and in friendship. Say your boyfriend says he wants you to move in with him. It’s definitely enough to get you flustered into saying yes, yes, yes! But 10-10-10 it before you get too excited: In 10 minutes you’ll have less closet space but half the rent. After 10 months, you’ll have less “me time” but a deeper understanding of him—for better or worse. Then, 10 years down the road, will you have scars from breaking up with the man you almost built a life with? Or will you have a strong, long-term bond with him? Once you’ve thought about all the angles, your answer will be clear, and you’ll have concrete, simply reasoning to back it up—not to mention you’ll be able to explain your thinking to your guy.
重新考虑你的想法
那次旅行之后不久，我想起了一个我称之为10-10-10的策略：通过对生活中的事情在10分钟，10个月，10年内产生的影响进行评估之后，再筛选出每一个复杂的决定。举例来说，如果我把孩子留在家里，10分钟后，他们也许会生气。但是，10个月后，我可以用挣的钱带他们去度假。而10年之后，我们也许都已经忘记了我那次离开家的三天时间，避免了其间产生的麻烦。
很快，我把这一方法应用到所有令我抓狂的各种危机上来。从此，我发现这个方法适用于生活中的各种窘境：恋爱、工作以及友谊。例如，你的男朋友希望你和他生活在一起。你绝对可能慌慌张张就同意了。但是，在你过于兴奋之前，请考虑使用我的10-10-10策略。10分钟之后，你的壁橱使用空间会减少，你还要支付一半的房租。10个月之后，属于你的“自由时间”会减少，但是你会更深入地了解他——不论好坏。走过10年的历程，你会和那个曾经打算厮守终生的男人分手并因此而留下累累伤痕吗？或者你会和他的关系更加牢固吗？一旦你全方位考虑问题，你就会得到一个明确的答案，你将有更加具体清晰的理由来支持你的决定——更不用说你也可以把你的想法解释给你的那位男友了。
Make It Work for You
The confidence 10-10-10 gave me was so powerful that I shared it with my sisters and friends, who now turn to the tool anytime they need advice: Do I take a pay cut for a job I’d love? Should I spend Friday night with my girlfriends or work late on a project that might land me a promotion? Should I splurge on concert tickets for a once-in-a-lifetime show or save up? 10-10-10 doesn’t tell you what to do, but it helps you figure out what you care about most so you can make the right choice for you. Use it, and tell a friend. She’ll thank you... in 10 minutes, 10 months, 10 years.
让它为你所用
10-10-10策略带给我巨大的信心，因此我同我的姐妹们以及朋友们分享它。每当他们需要意见的时候，他们都会使用这一策略：我应该为我所爱的工作而接受薪水的缩水吗？我该在周五的晚上陪我的女友们，还是该熬夜做项目，因为这个项目可能使我得到晋升？我该花大钱去买一张一生只此一次的音乐会门票还是该把钱存起来呢？10-10-10策略并不能告诉你该做什么，但是，它会使你明白你最在意的是什么，进而帮你作出正确的选择。使用这个策略吧，并把它告诉给你的朋友。10分钟后，10个月后，10年之后，她会感谢你的……