Welcome to Minute with Mallon!

Something I Taught:

Have you ever heard of a term called Dichotomous Thinking? It's basically all-or-nothing, black-or-white thinking, and it's very common. It's a way of thinking characterized by viewing situations or concepts in extreme, polarized terms with no middle ground or shades of gray. In other words,

You're Wrong, and I'm Right.

If you're honest with yourself, you've caught yourself doing this in certain situations. I have too.

Throughout my coaching experience, I've introduced this concept when clients seem resistant to considering others' opinions.

So picture this: I'm on a Zoom call with a client. I hold my hand up to the screen with my palm facing towards the camera. "What do you see?"

They begin describing my hand. "Well, your thumb is on the right, you have lines on your palm," etc.

Now I'm on the other side of the hand, but I'm looking AT THE SAME HAND from a different perspective. "No, my thumb is not on the right, it's on the left. I don't have lines on my hand, I have knuckles."

You get the picture.

Then I ask them to tell me what happened. "Well, we're seeing the same hand but from different perspectives."

EXACTLY!

The point is, in leadership and in life, often we will be looking at the same thing as another person, but seeing it from a different perspective.

And the point is, you're not 100% right and neither are they!

We can see things differently and still both be right.

And by the way, how boring would it be if we all agreed on everything?

Listening to others' opinions doesn't mean you'll always agree, but it does mean you're willing to consider perspectives beyond your own.

So beware when you disagree with someone. We can both have our own points of view, and still be somewhat right. It's just a matter of perspective.

In a world that’s often painted in black and white, it's crucial to remember the shades of gray that exist in every situation. Dichotomous thinking may lead us to believe there's only one right answer, but embracing diverse perspectives reveals the richness and complexity of the world around us.

And maybe, just maybe, we’ll learn something too! 👨🏼‍🎓

Something to Ponder:

The easiest way to keep a secret is without help.

Isaac Asimov

Something I Learned:

I'm finishing up a very good book called The True Measure of a Man by Richard E. Simmons III. If you're a man, I'd highly recommend it!

One of the things the book talks about was that a man most likely will never reach his full potential by playing it safe and refusing to expose himself to failure. Refusing to risk failure could cause you later in life to ask, "What if?"

Here's an excerpt:

"Tony Campolo tells of a study done a number of years ago by a group of sociologists. They interviewed a large number of people, and the only criteria to be chosen for the study was that you had to be at least ninety-five years old. They were asked this one question: If you could live your life over again, what would you do differently? One of the most common answers of this group of elderly people was, "If I could go back and live my life over again, I would have taken more risks.

What strikes me with this answer is that these people in their twilight years realized what a mistake it was to play it safe over the course of their lives."

Looking back over my life, I can tell you that the BEST THINGS that have happened were the result of doing things where I didn't really know if it would work.

I'd like to leave you with this thought: embracing risk and stepping out of our comfort zones often leads to the most fulfilling and meaningful experiences in life. While playing it safe may shield us from failure, it also denies us the opportunity to discover our true potential.

Go for it! 🏎️

Something I Saw:

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Hope you have an incredible week!

Robert

Minute With Mallon: Beyond Black-and-White Brilliance