The Third Zone

Specialists in Organizational and Executive Leadership

  • Home
  • Our Team
  • What We Do
  • Successes
  • Blog
  • Reading
  • Contact

Aug 17 2022

Emerging from the Intrusive EMAIL Nightmare at Work

One’s email inbox has been a source of great frustration and complaint at least for the past decade at work.  This has evolved into a challenge that has served to impact one’s productivity and sense of control. The inbox has become something to be dreaded and for many, an obstacle to getting needed work done.

2 much email sign

The problem is simple.  One can’t avoid the inbox as that became and has remained the overwhelming leading communication method within organizations.  And when we consider the past three+ years living under the COVID umbrella, the situation has become worse.  Under COVID and the related remote working, what used to be walking up to another person in the office to get an answer or information we wanted became much more reliant on email to achieve the same purpose.

FLOW SIGN

So, what’s the big deal? The big deal is that it interrupts our being in our ‘flow state’ … a term devised by positive psychologists Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Jeanne Nakamura. Flow state describes a feeling where, under the right conditions, you become fully immersed in whatever you are doing. This is when one’s body and mind are fluid and allows us to be totally absorbed by and deeply focused on something beyond the point of distraction.  It feels like time has slowed.  You are completely absorbed by the task at hand and with heightened senses this creates an effortless momentum.  It’s what some refer to as being ‘in the zone’.  When working on something of importance, the resulting focus brings about intensity toward the task.  It leads to a sense of  clarity, and one knows exactly what he/she wants to do from minute to minute.

The problem arises when working in this ‘flow state’ and being productive as needed, along comes our email.  Be it a ‘ding’ from our phone or computer or just conditioning that that has made us feel dependent on the need to check emails, our ability to focus and ‘flow’ is out the window. Therefore, the real question that must be asked is what one can do about this and regain more control over the things that must get done.  Here are some ways to achieve this:

  1. Allocate specific times on your calendar during each day for checking email.
    Treating the email inbox like we treat an appointment or meeting brings the needed structure and related control. This will allow focus on key items that require our uninterrupted focus to complete. It also serves to set boundaries for oneself that, when adhered to will increase a person’s productivity.

    do not disturb2

  1. With times scheduled on one’s calendar, turnoff notifications of incoming mail.
    The dings on phone or computer are no longer needed once committed to a scheduled approach to checking emails. Leaving them in place only serves as a distraction and works against what one wants to accomplish. 
  1. View the email inbox as a place to receive and process messages … only.
    As such there is a commitment to act in some way with each item present. Having several hundred emails in an inbox renders the inbox as useless.  The impact on the individual that allows that to happen is a combination of overwhelm, frustration and anything but productive. 
  1. Create email folders that allow inbox emails to be moved to the appropriate file.
    Sort inbox mail to the likes of ‘urgent response’ … ‘fyi’ … ‘industry info’ or any other category that is meaningful to the recipient. This will enable one to sort the inbox appropriately and reduce the emails requiring response or action that day to be receive the needed focus. This organized approach will provide a sense of control to the user.

  2. Commit to touching an email ONLY once.

    ONE TIME FINGER

    Making this commitment means that when an email is in our inbox, we will take some Thus, we deal with this just once rather than leaving it in the inbox to see repeatedly. We move it to another folder, or we immediately respond to it and it then moved.  Too often it is read … and read … and read only to remain in that inbox.

  3. Apply and follow a 1-minute rule.
    Because you have allocated time on your calendar to this ‘email appointment’ when an email can be responded to and thus managed within one minute … do it. That email can then be moved to a client folder or any other one that is appropriate. 
  1. An email response is not always the most efficient response.
    We have become so email prone that responding in the most efficient and effective way is overlooked. Differentiating as related to what the intention is can lead to communicating in the most effective manner. If the desire is simply to update a co-worker or customer on a situation, emails work well.  If, however, you are looking to get or receive information that will enable you to proceed with your work at hand, a telephone call can prove to be faster and beneficial. 

While email has become the glue that holds companies together, it also is one of our biggest distractions. The statics pertaining to the percentage of time that individuals spend dealing with daily emails is staggering. There is a clear value to any form of email-like communication that conveys needed information without the need to communicate in-person or via telephone. And yet, without self-control and management it can and does have a significant impact on the level of productivity experienced throughout the organization.

sharing an idea with another

Sharing your personal plan with other co-workers might get their interest in taking this challenge for themselves. The issue is widespread throughout most organizations.  If this were the beginning of the new year, taking steps as suggested above would make for a terrific resolution. Of course, there is nothing to prevent any of us from making a mid-year resolution.  Why not?  All will probably like it!
Mike Dorman

Written by Mike · Categorized: Employee Effectiveness, Employee Success, Personal Responsibility

Feb 23 2022

Succeeding Against All Odds – Our Personal Olympic Challenge

It’s a good guess that most of us watched at least a small amount of the winter Olympics over the past two weeks. And it’s highly likely that we have heard and read the criticisms directed at them. ‘Them’ includes NBC for their overall coverage … suspected doping scandals directed at a certain government and the focus on the individual Olympian failures. These factors combined with an enormous time difference and general viewer fatigue resulted in the lowest viewership of all time or close to it.

aerial skier

And yet, there were victories celebrated by athletes who have spent untold and unimaginable hours over years preparing for this opportunity to compete. Being on this world stage for the chance to medal was the motivation that help them stay their course and do the job that this success would require. There was one team that was a true standout, and they took home nothing made from metal. Rather, they won and took home greater drive and determination than they came with. They returned home committed to a plan to return yet again, confident of their future victories. This is truly against all odds given that they hail from a place that has NO colder winter weather than 75 degrees. I am referring to Jamaica.

jamaican bobsled

Just watching the 4-man bobsled team cheer after crossing the finish line in last place of all competing teams was noticeable and attention getting. Afterall, it represented the first time in 24 years (their first and only Olympic appearance in 1988) that they again qualified to bring their team back to compete. I was moved to ponder what it took for such a team to stay their course. What enabled them to defy the odds and so-called conventional wisdom? And finally, how can these traits be applied to all of us as individuals having a dream and vision for the success we want for our careers? What are the habits of those who have and can defy the odds?

WHAT ARE THE TRAITS THAT HELP US DEFY THE ODDS?

Here are some of the more dominant attributes of people determined to win and seeing that completely in their hands and their power:

  1. They do what they love.
    When you’re passionate and excited about something, it ceases to have the ‘work’ tag attached to it. “When you’re engaged in such work, you do not want to stop,” says psychotherapist, Nick Terrone. He references Vincent Van Gogh as an example. “Van Gogh sold only one piece during his lifetime, yet his passion drove him to paint almost 900 works. The key? Find your passion.”
  2. They focus on a goal.

    hit the dartboard

    The challenge associated with achieving a goal can increase one’s motivation. However, this doesn’t mean just focusing on climbing to the very top of this mountain is the way to success. Rather than being overwhelmed, start with smaller goals and continue to increase them as you accomplish various steps or stages.
  3. They manage their inside team.
    We all have and carry around with us our personal teams made up of ‘individuals’ of voices. They have the ability and do remind us of reasons we can or can’t accomplish something that we aim to achieve. If we are not careful, we can allow our team member voices to hijack our goals. However, the fact is that we can control and manage such internal dialogue in ways that enable us to stay our chosen course.
  4. They believe in themself. 

    do not doubt sign

    Confidence is always a valuable ingredient to succeeding in whatever we endeavor to do. And … it becomes even more important when we encounter obstacles that we must overcome. It helps to defy whatever falls into the so-called conventional wisdom arena. This person communicates with certainty that any challenge can and will be met.
  5. They are persistent and determined.
    These are two qualities that are considered very essential for a person wanting to triumph over adversity. Although success is desired and envisioned by many it can be accompanied by challenges that seem too great and thus, we give up. And yet, it is some failure we experience that enables us to develop these needed attributes.
  6. An ability to see solutions overrides obstacles. 
    This person is so connected to the goal of what they want to and believe they can achieve. They continually, creatively see an obstacle as something to get around. Be it a true obstacle or an error made, they are driven and determined to learn along the way to achievement.
  7. Ask for help and support.

    ask for help sign

    We do not and cannot live in isolation and having others in your circle is a good thing. Undoubtedly there are going to be times when one is challenged and even having thoughts of giving up the goal. This is the time to ask others who likely have faced the same challenge for help and are willing to do so. Asking not only gets around the obstacle … it also helps one regain their ’second wind’ of inspiration.

APPLYING THE JAMAICAN LESSON TO OURSELVES AND HOW WE WIN GOLD

The Jamaican bobsled team crashed out of competition in 1988. Still, they walked across the finish line carrying their sled while cheering and waving to the crowd. And, most importantly, it created a determination on their part to dig in and stay the course that would help them qualify again which didn’t happen until this year’s Olympics. Were they successful? To them absolutely in that they completed the course without any incident. And more importantly because it was one step closer to achieving their ultimate goal. According to Jamaican Bobsleigh Federation President Chris Stokes, “Our big plan for 2026 is to qualify for four events, two teams per event, and to have someone on the podium in 2030.”

Although achieving the highest of personal goals may be easy for a fortunate few, it is often far from it for most of us.

gold bars

The Jamaican team should make us wonder … if they can do something of this magnitude, why can’t I? The fact is that you can as long as you bring the needed goal setting and tenacity on the ride. Isn’t it great to realize that we and we alone are the master of our destiny. Anything that appears to get in the way is only a temporary obstacle that we can circumvent. Envision celebrating your success … your gold … while relaxing on the beaches of Jamaica … the place of inspiration. Seems like a great combination and goal.
Mike Dorman

Written by Mike · Categorized: Employee Success, Personal Responsibility

Jul 06 2021

Entering a COVID World – No Choice. Emerging from One – The Choices Are Ours

heavy winds

Last year, in March, we found ourselves feeling victimized by the horrors of an unfolding pandemic.  It was something that few if any living people had ever experienced.  As a result, we had little if anything to draw upon that would inform us of how to navigate the building storm that would soon impact not just our world.  It would impact THE world and turn any sense of normalcy completely upside down.  Having a choice was not a part of the pandemic’s vocabulary. We found ourselves pretty much at the mercy of the wild and out of control winds of COVID 19. 

This was then and we are currently at now.  Being at ‘now’, we are hopefully able to envision an end being within reach.  Even with concerning variants we still are beginning to see through the haze.  We believe that we can and will be victorious in resuming a life that we want to live.  Yet, a question that we all get to contemplate is what are the experiences we had living in this ‘forced’ world of new normal that we would like to carry forward?  And what are the things that we lost in these 16 months that we want to resume at least in some form?

It’s an interesting issue to contemplate for we all have to ability to make choices.  The ones we make that will allow us to design our chosen paths.  We get to choose how the emerging  new normal will be for us and the various directions we get to consider. 

THE CHOICES OF OUR NEW NORMAL WE GET TO MAKE
Here are some choices we get to make:
Our Home
What we didn’t choose: Once a place to retreat from the outside world, the residence became the world all under one roof.  It became the office, the gym and the favorite restaurants.  It also served as the school for our children and the play yards for needed exercise.  It required both creativity and planning.  It required us to recognize that we were in this for the long-haul and to resist was to increase our personal frustration and overall unhappiness.  And yet … we had no realistic alternative.

remote office

What we may choose: To the extent that we grew to like the ability to work remotely the emerging normal may well provide the opportunity to continue to work away from an office… full or part time.  For many, our employers have given us remote access to all of the information and tools we need to accomplish our work.  Now that we have rearranged our homes to include a realistic work area this has become an attractive approach.

Remote work saves us the commute time to and from the office. Finding time to exercise or to get home in time to have dinner with the family has had a dynamic impact.  Now, we may actually feel more in balance and that is good.

family sharing jobs

We may choose to continue having greater involvement with all aspects of being a part of a family.  Roles that were somewhat clearly defined became somewhat fuzzy and we all pitched in to do whatever was called for.  This tended to alter what being a family meant on a day-to-day basis.  For many, this is a real positive.

We may choose to continue to focus on various home projects that isolation provided the opportunity to address.  Wemight have come to realize that ongoing and occasional attention will prevent things from getting out of hand and becoming bigger than they need to be.

What we may not choose: The responsibility of home schooling is not something that many signed up to undertake.  We don’t have the training or even the knowledge and that has created stress for both parents and children.  It has also prevented children from interacting with others of their age and such socialization is important.

If you believe in absence making the heart grow fonder, a 24-7 existence can challenge this big-time with just a couple. This is magnified especially when it involves children as well.  I’m sure there are those among us who will welcome at least some form of separation in the emerging world.

Our Work

connecting with others

What we didn’t choose:  For many, the easy interaction with co-workers and team members was something that never required much planning.  We easily scheduled meetings or could drop by one’s desk or office to get needed input.  Remote work changed the nature of this type of relationship and the ease of needed communication.  We needed to devise different approaches that would accomplish some of the same need.  We struggled with the imposed separation and the related challenges it created.

What we may choose:
With systems devised by both the company and within our homes, we have learned how to be effective in the work we do.  We have achieved a way to produce what is expected of us while also being involved in other aspects of our lives.  We have learned to gain connection with the likes of zoom.  We value what having more time in other areas of our lives has come to mean and find ourselves willing to give up some of the in-person interaction as a result.  Going into the office on occasion for needed meetings with a team or customers is a worthwhile compromise easy to make.

What we may not choose: For some, working remotely has created a very solitary type of life and has been found to be simply depressing.  We now realize that working in an office environment is a contributor to our overall happiness.  We realize the need for the socialization and recognize that we must have a job that allows for this.  If not possible where we have been working, we know we need to pursue an alternative.

Our Connections
What we didn’t choose:  We have no long-term experience living in an isolated world devoid of the simplest form of

being isolated

interactions with others.  This is especially the potential reality when living alone or with roommates having lives unrelated to ours.  Such isolation has created loneliness as we have not experienced before.  Bottom line is we don’t like it even if we have learned how to spend alone time over the past 16 months.

What we may choose: To carry forward some of the learning we have had … learning how to be with ourselves and actually enjoy it.  Maybe we’ve taken up activities that we had never tried before … and liked them.  Maybe we have successfully ventured into areas of thought that we have avoided and got answers and action that we had avoided.

Perhaps using the likes of zoom, we purposefully created opportunities to connect with others.  Perhaps there had been few contacts in our previous life and now, given more solitary time, we reached out to reestablish connections we have missed … and we like it.  In fact, even in the emerging normal we are all committed to holding onto such renewed connections.  We’ve come to realize that we want these relationships in our life … ongoing.

What we may not choose: To work as hard to maintain relationships as we feel we have worked in this COVID world.  For these many months, pursuing them was as much about fulfilling our needs for connection while perhaps being of value to them as well.  However, emerging into a safer and healthier world will allow us to pick and choose what and who we still want to include in our life.  And that’s okay regardless of the decision you make.

best choice sign

As much as we can’t wait to reestablish a ‘normal’ into our lives, we can and should also make personal choices as to what we carry forward, gladly leave behind. We get to create and develop the new normal of our lives. It deserves some serious thought, analysis and discussion. FINALLY, choice is close to being back and the choice is ours to make.  It’s something to recognize and of which we owe it to ourselves to take full advantage.
Mike Dorman

Written by Mike · Categorized: Personal Responsibility

Dec 16 2020

Forget Traditional New Year Resolutions! Just Carry Forward Learnings of 2020 and Implement Them

There have always been those who are die-hard New Years Resolution makers.  And even though, it’s well determined that by the middle of January the largest number of these resolves have fallen off the map.  However, it appears this year, as we approach 2021, many people are clearly focused on individual learning take-aways from 2020 that they want to carry forward into the new year and even those beyond.  Be them things they have learned as related to their job, business, family or friends, it is hoped that these are things that will significantly minimize ever having to live through what 2020 has delivered.  In swapping the resolutions of things we want to do … i.e. joining a gym, losing weight or finding a new job …  to those aimed at implementing what we have learned in getting through this year is the focus of many.  Our learning encompasses all areas of our lives.

I have little doubt that in reviewing the following things you will be able toresolution sign add to your personal list.  Given that we are still a couple of weeks away from the new year, I, for one, think that it will be a valuable topic of discussion.  Here are some worth consideration.

  • Be ready for anything … and be flexible
    While we personally or business-wise may have felt like we had contingency or rainy-day plans, nowhere did our experience lead us to create concrete emergency plans due to something that impacted our lives on every level.
    The Carry forward? – redefine what preparedness would mean for us personally and in all aspects of our lives.

  • Create a cash emergency fund
    Feeling we have enough money to put something aside if a COVID style emergency fund signemergency were to arise can’t be taken for granted as a given. It must become a serious consideration and decision if we truly don’t want to experience the same degree of uncertainty and worry.
    The Carry forward? – Regardless of the amount, having anything … something … that will allow us to live our lives with knowing that we have some bandwidth is critical.  It can serve to stave off immediate panic while we contemplate our next steps and allow some time to create and act on a plan or possible solution. 
  • Bring budgeting into your world
    Maybe before this year we were doing well enough to live and enjoy the kind of life we envisioned. We didn’t foresee any real changes and only anticipated that we would advance our income.  However, 2020 taught us all how wise it is to expect the unexpected.
    The carry forward?  in our work and maybe even enjoying dual incomes into our homes we learned that we had best be prepared for unimagined issues for we now know that unimagined doesn’t mean impossible.
  • Working remotely is beyond doable
    What began as something unimaginable and unworkable emerged into a situation wherein employees and their employers came to realize the array of benefits to both. There is evidence that for many the past beliefs and approach to working and running a business is no longer valid.  In fact, remote work is preferable in so many situations.
    The carry forward? – Remote working can be both effective and efficient in ways never envisioned.  For the company to require less physical space and for the employee to enjoy reduced costs related to the likes of commuting time and office attire needs is a win for all.
  • Being around others when sick isn’t cool!
    How many times have you socialized with friends or been at work wherein someone was there who was ill? Of course, they felt they social distance signwere better and no risk and their boredom or feeling the need to get the project out drive them to be among others.  COVID has shown us differently.
    The carry forward? – We have not all experienced the danger of being around those who ignore their own health.  As such, they move forward based on their own desires or sense of responsibility and COVID has demonstrated the need for the greater good in our thinking and decision making.
  • Social interaction is a need to be respected
    As human beings most of us have a need for human interaction. It’s also our desire and with the water cooler gone or the restaurants and gyms closed we have had to devise ways to satisfy ourselves to create such opportunities.
    The carry forward? – The world of zoom has done much to narrow the gap.  In organizations it allows us to come together and conduct business and has been found to create a more efficient atmosphere.  On a personal level it has allowed us to stay connected to friends and family beyond what we may have enjoyed previously.
  • NOT Being techno savvy is much less of an option … and that’s good
    With the never-ending rollout of new and enhanced technology designed to make our lives easier, faster or more efficient, so many have adopted a maxed-out mindset. “I like my old way and am tired of always having to learn to do things differently just because it’s tech savvy manthere” has been heard often. Working remotely has forced so many to learn different technology in order to keep up.  And if our children are at school remotely, we have come to realize how much they know and how easy it is for them to learn using these new tools.  Thus, we have been forced to learn what they know just to be able to help them.
    The carry forward? – Realizing that being resistant to new technology has been an added disadvantage and challenge this year and should increase our willingness to learn to use it.
  • Reinvent ourselves and allow flexibility to be our driver
    COVID turned so much of our known habits and routines on their ear. Did we really ever imagine we would be going to work … at home?  Or did we ever think that we might become teachers?  Or did we ever envision meeting a friend for a glass of wine would take place via zoom?  And yet there we have been.  Forced to step out of various comfort zones and just do what had to be done.
    The carry forward? – hold onto to the flexibility we were forced to incorporate.  Doing so enhances our value to our work and to deepening relationships.

Boxing legend Mike Tyson once said: “Everybody has a plan until they get think about things differently 1punched in the mouth.” While we may feel that we always had some sort of contingency plan to deal with the ‘what ifs’, this year has taught us that COVID-19 has done exactly that to us in different ways.  Taking real advantage of what we have all learned pertaining to our individual worlds is to reduce the terrifying impact of any future pandemic and in the meantime improve our day to day lives.  Putting 2020 in the rearview in this way seems like a great resolution!  On your way to the New Year, enjoy a safe holiday.
Mike Dorman

        Written by Mike · Categorized: Personal Responsibility, Uncategorized

        Sep 09 2020

        Drinking and Driving … Masks and COVID. Unsettling Similarities

        Almost without exception, this blog and its’ varying topics has been written from the vantage point of the workplace.  Being the leader, contributing as an employee and, in a general sense how to be effective in one’s role in whatever the role has been the focus.  And even today, in the 7th month of living with and adapting to the existence of the Coronavirus, we have addressed challenges as related to the impact that COVID-19 has had on business in general and those who work within them are experiencing.

        curiosity pix

        Today’s blog differs from those of the recent past for rather than addressing the COVID impact,  I have become very curious to try and understand the lack of a unified approach to addressing and dealing with this current pandemic.  I’m not referring to the lack of common leadership opinions of government or from within states, cities or townships.  It’s somewhat simpler than that.  I am referring to the lack of a common response to something that has proven itself to be a life threatening situation … one still on the rise or awaiting the next surge.  Of course, I want to believe that the great majority of us do trust and believe in medicine and the way this informs us as to realities and threats of any such malady.  Scratching my head in puzzlement gave me just one path … looking into things of the past to understand what we are all seeing today.  Is the disagreement, anger, indignation and determination in different directions similar to earlier times when change was ‘imposed’ on us as a society?

        Taking a historical look to a situation closely aligned with the COVID challenge, driving while intoxicated revealed meaningful similarities.  As such and when we get behind the wheel of a car after feeling the effects of toobooze and keys

        much alcohol intake, for certain we are putting our own life at risk of being in a serious or even deadly accident.  As well, we are also putting the lives of those we encounter while driving in the same risk position.  Thus, this becomes a situation that is, in meaningful ways, closely aligned with our decision to wear or not wear a mask … to put advised distance between ourselves and others … or not to do so.

        As Ari Tuckman wrote in his article that appeared in Psychology Today “As a highly contagious disease, managing COVID-19 as a society involves the sum total of every individual’s actions. Just as with drunk driving, the choices of the individual can have serious consequences on those around them. Therefore, we all have a vested interest in how others respond to both of these threats. As Americans, we value individual liberties, but we still recognize that one person’s rights end where another’s begin. The best balance between individual freedoms and societal responsibilities has been fiercely debated through our history and is now being played out on the battlefield of mask-wearing.  Do the societal benefits of wearing a mask outweigh the loss of individual freedom to not want to wear one?”

        Tuckman makes several meaningful points that reinforce the similarities that exist between intoxicated drinking and mask wearing.

        • Masks as Social Signal
          Wearing a mask in public, or not, is visible to others. Whether we intend to or not, we are sending a signal to everyone who sees you about whether you are taking the pandemic seriously. Because the response to theman in mask 1 pandemic in general, and mask-wearing in particular, has become so politicized, it’s hard to not have opinions about what one sees—one way or the other.Whether or not you wear a mask doesn’t only have a direct medical effect on those around you in terms of potential viral spread, but it also has a social effect when it influences what others will do. If someone sees lots of people wearing masks, they are more likely to also do it. If they see few people wearing masks, they are less likely. Some of this may be related to not wanting to stand out. But also, because masks are so visible, it’s an informal survey of how others feel, which consciously and unconsciously influences our own opinions on the matter.
          The relationship to drinking?
          If the people you hang out with tend to be rather lax about drinking and driving, then you may be likely to loosen your own standards. Alternatively, if the people you are with tend to be consistent about designated drivers, then you are more likely to lean that way, too. This social influence can happen completely implicitly, without any direct conversations about what one should do.
        • What’s the Acceptable Risk?
          We consciously and unconsciously look to others’ behavior to inform our own assessment of risk. If someone gamble dice 1else is doing something and seemingly unharmed, then it’s probably OK to do it. Overall, this tends to work, but not for risks that take time to show their negative consequences (e.g., one can drive drunk a bunch of times before suddenly something terrible happens) or where one can’t accurately assess the risk (e.g., someone can be contagious but asymptomatic and infect people unknowingly). This is where we need to apply our higher-level cognitive skills and not just go by what our gut tells us about what is safe—which is why we don’t rely on drunk people’s self-assessment about their ability to drive safely. Social referencing is helpful, but it sometimes gets it wrong, as that old parental cliché points out: If all your friends were jumping off a bridge, would you jump off a bridge?
          The Relationship to Drinking?
          Making a point of setting up a designated driver conveys to your friends that drunk driving is too risky and perhaps influences them to feel the same. Similarly, wearing a mask and being clear that you are taking other appropriate precautions also sends a message to the people around you that there is an unacceptable level of risk with unprotected exposure and you are taking steps to reduce those risks.
        • Masks as Social Responsibility
          Wearing a mask, as well as practicing various other risk-reduction habits, is not just about reducing one’s own chances of contracting coronavirus. There is also the matter of spreading it to others that one comes in contact with who may be more vulnerable—loved ones and strangers alike. But let’s not forget the influence we have on the behavior of others by the example that we set—are we normalizing riskier or safer behavior?

        choice hands

        Nobody wants another lockdown, but to avoid one, we need to take the risk seriously. Wearing a mask and avoiding crowded situations seems a small sacrifice for a much greater good—keeping people healthy and employed. This pandemic has made it clear that, as a society, we are all in this together and we all have our part to play.  What I’ve learned in looking into our current situation is that in the past, whether pertaining to the likes of driving while ‘under the influence’, wearing or not wearing seat belts or smoking in restaurants or on planes, each of these initially met real resistance in varying degrees and for varying amounts of time.  Change happened because eventually, either there were laws passed that mandated certain behaviors or risk penalties … or, we suffered serious consequences as a result of our only thinking about our individual rights being infringed upon while thinking little or not at all about the greater good of ourselves and those around us.  Yes, it’s our individual choice.  Personally, whatever enables all of us to resume a full and fulfilling day to day life seems like a worthwhile goal for all.  And you?
        Mike Dorman

         

        Written by Mike · Categorized: Personal Responsibility

        Contact

        Toll Free: (866) 902-3777
        Direct Phone: (949) 733-3777





          The Third Zone
          (Headquarters)
          5319 University Drive #212
          Irvine, CA 92612

          Copyright © 2023 The Third Zone

          Powered by Guild™

          Please wait...

          Subscribe to our newsletter

          Want to be notified when our article is published? Enter your email address and name below to be the first to know.
          SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTER NOW

          190220 Ebook CTA image

          Being Thrown Under the Bus:
          What to Do When It happens to YOU in the Workplace

          Chapters include:

          • The Meaning of Being Thrown Under the Bus
          • The Ones Who are Likely to do the Throwing
          • The Impact on the Individuals and the Organization Where Throwing Under the Bus is Tolerated
          • Responding After Having Been Thrown Under the Bus … You Get to Choose
          • How to Minimize the Likelihood of Finding Yourself Under the Bus

            Your Name (required)

            Your Email (required)

            Your Phone

            Thanks for your message!

             

            Loading Comments...