LOGICal eMOTIONs

Congruence

// July 16th, 2007 // Logical Emotions, The MINeD Field

In a previous post, we covered the fact that commitment is crap, simply because it is predetermined by priority. Depending on the level of priority we place upon something, it will automatically determine our own levels of commitment to that item. The reality is that we no longer have to worry about commitment, and in a world hung up on “you must be committed to ___”, it could potentially eliminate quite a bit of stress for some – don’t worry about commitment, just make sure your priorities are correct.

Now, what wasn’t covered previously was what influences the actual setting of priorities: congruence. If we are not congruent with our priorities, how can we possibly set them correctly? It then starts the cascading effect that if our priorities are not set in the proper order, then our commitment is off, etc. etc…

Whether we realize it or not, congruence plays quite a large part in our lives. We move towards things that we are in congruence with, and we move away from things that we are not.

When I asked Chris Venn, about congruence, he was able to break it down into three parts:

1. Definable and specific outcome
2. Overwhelming passion and/or desire
3. Specific action to take

If we have a definable and specific outcome, an overwhelming passion or desire, and we also have a specific action to take, it can then be said that we are in congruence with whatever it is we need to be in congruence with. If use the example of setting a goal for ourselves, it is paramount that all three parts are satisfied. If they are, we are congruent with the goal that we have set, however, if something is missing, we are not in congruence, we don’t achieve the goal, and here is why:

Depending on which part of the required three (Outcome, Action, Passion) is missing at any given time, we get a different resulting explanation of why we are not congruent.

OUTCOME + ACTION – Passion = COMPLACENT
To have a SPECIFIC OUTCOME, to be TAKING ACTION towards it and to NOT be passionate about it is to be COMPLACENT. In my opinion, there is probably nothing any more boring in life than to be complacent. To put it bluntly, COMPLACENCY = DEATH. There are two states in life: growth and decay. In order to be growing, in any aspect of your life, one cannot be complacent. If your job has a specific outcome, you are taking actions daily to reach this outcome, yet you are not passionate about it, are you not complacent? How many people do you know that are not passionate about what they do, yet keep taking action towards an outcome?

PASSION + ACTION – Outcome = UNFOCUSED
To be PASSIONATE about something, to be TAKING ACTION towards it, but to NOT have a specific outcome is to be UNFOCUSED. There are times when we are truly passionate about something and we have many actions we can fill our days with, yet without a specific and definable outcome, how do we know where we’re going? How do you get from point A to point B when you don’t even know where point B is or what it looks like? We know we really, really, really want to be at point B, we have a big list of things that we can do to get there, yet, really, we have no idea where it is…

OUTCOME + PASSION – Action = FEAR
To have a SPECIFIC OUTCOME, to be PASSIONATE about it, yet to NOT take action is to be in FEAR. Fear is probably the number one limitation for people when it comes to purpose, or just about anything else. Fear of airplanes prevents people from traveling and exploring THEIR world. Fear of heights keeps people from experiencing awe inspiring views. We all know them, have experienced them, are experiencing them, and know people that live them – here you fill in the blanks:

Fear of _____ prevents people from _____.

Now, for this post I am not going to get into the whole realm of ‘fear’ and we shall just recognize it as ‘one of the big ones’ out there that is holding back people, communities, and countries.

Although this model helps us understand how we can GET in congruence with something, it also helps us avoid some land mines along the way. What if you were to use the above model when looking at a new business opportunity? Is there a specific and definable outcome? What are the actions that will be taken to make the business happen? Are you passionate about your role and the business idea?

If you were to not have a positive response to each part, would it make sense to pursue this business ‘opportunity’? What if your business partner was missing a section?

For me, a big one is passion. It is one that I have been struggling with over the last while (some would say BIG WHILE), yet I feel that it is THE most important one of the three. As a business, a relationship, a blog, or whatever evolves and grows, the specific and definable outcome can change. The actions taken can also change, however, if passion decreases or is lost, really, the heart and soul is gone. Can something still work without passion? Absolutely! Assembly lines thrive on two out of three parts. They have a specific outcome (1000 cars per shift), and they have specific actions along the line (put widget A onto component B), however, are the laborers truly passionate about what they’re doing?

Personally, I have begun looking at various projects and such, starting with passion. The outcome and actions will either fall into place or not, yet if it is something that I am not passionate about from the beginning, I seriously wonder why I would even bother…

Congruence allows us to ultimately, set better priorities throughout or lives, which in turn, sets our own levels of commitment. Once we are committed to something, we become, unstoppable!

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