Three Lenses Theory for Making Better Decisions
Day in and day out right from our childhood till the death we make decisions. In fact the decisions whether small or big, that we took in childhood, in our career, in choosing life partners, in selecting the type of food ,exercise and lifestyle etc have molded our life to where we are now. And the decisions that we take now will decide where we will be in the future. Each and everyone of us if we reflect our lives there will be some decisions which worked well for us and there will be some more decisions which we repent on. Not all decisions are right and not all decisions are wrong, it’s like voting if a person makes more right decisions the chances of him becoming successful are high. The process of making good decisions should be clear and implemented by each of us. I propose here the three lenses theory for making better decisions. Before diving into these lenses are, we should be clear what are actually good decisions. Good decisions are the one which may or may not produce better short term results but they have two distinct features — one is there will be no regret and the second is there will be long term benefit either in one or many ways whether in social or emotional or financial benefit.
The process of decision making involves ‘the input’ of information from different senses like listening or seeing. This information is processed by our brain and we respond . the response can be in various forms like verbal or written or even physical response. There should be two prerequisites for proper decision making. First is to be clear that the information is complete and comprehensible. The second one is not to react but to respond consciously. After getting the information the way we process the information before responding is important. These three lenses are the way we look at the things and process the information.
The first lens is the “lens of my personality insights ”. Through this lens I see and process the information depending upon how I interpret. Here I is my identity. The way my identity was built is through the stories that both I and my acquaintances told me about what is good and bad right from my childhood till date. This is how most of us make decisions. Here each one’s personality and identity is not the same so the way people respond to information or situation and the way they take decisions are according to what they think is right and wrong and the reference guide is my perception of things. Here there can be some decisions which will be taken in an ego and may not be right. This method of taking decisions depending upon what I feel right or wrong may not be fruitful all the time.
The second lens is the “lens of goal at sight” ; with which some of us take decisions. This is the method in which the person removes his first lens of looking the things from my personality and start looking at the things from what decisions are aligned with my goal either short term or long term. Here even if the decisions is against self interest or personality, still some people align the decisions according to their goal or company’s goal and take these decisions. This method of looking at the things by wearing the second lens even though that is against my personality and ego is a better way of taking the decisions. The people who take most of the decisions by wearing the second lens of goal at sight are likely to be more successful than the people who take the decisions by wearing the first lens.
The third lens is the lens of spirituality. Here whatever the input or information the process is through the lens of spirituality. You see the things and respond according to what is true and right according to spirituality. Whatever the path of spirituality one takes, whether through religious beliefs and texts or through self realization and enlightenment. This method of taking decisions is a more productive way in the long run. And the decisions will be taken with a clear cut direction and guide for the greater good not only from one’s own benefit but from the benefit of humanity. Most of such decisions will be right even in short term and long term. Even though some of the decisions may seem to be not right in the short run, the way we perceive the outcome through the lens of spirituality makes us easy to accept the results. It also brings a lot of inner peace.
Let me give you an example. I am a doctor practicing in India . Once a patient required surgery for his condition but the patient’s daughter was very fussy and asked many unnecessary questions as if doubting my intention and integrity. I felt hurt and irritated . If I would have seen through my first lens of My personality then I would have told her that you may or may not get the surgery and stop wasting my time with ridiculous questions. But once I realized that I should not react and then wore my second lens then I thought if I tolerated this nasty girl for some time I will get a chance to do a challenging surgery and also there will be financial gain. But as I wore the third lens of spirituality, I could empathize from her point of view. I felt that it is the concern and love for her father that she is asking such types of questions. Empathetic listening and answering here queries I felt is my responsibility. I was unattached with the end result whether they may or may not get surgery with me but it gave me a lot of peace and felt satisfied. As I was tolerant and answered all her queries, she got satisfied and trusted me to operate on her father.
So identify the three lenses and use the lens of spirituality for making decisions.
