darin
06-12-2007, 05:00 PM
I was reading a safety magazine published by the US Army today, and came across an article which spoke to factors relating to human performance and error. A couple sections spoke to me as being able to relate to other areas of life. The first:
"During some recent do-it-yourself home improvement projects, I was reminded of two things. First, I make mistakes; and second, they typically happen when I don’t do things right in favor of an “appealing” alternative. This isn’t unlike what happens in the cockpit or on the road when following the rules is pre-empted for a more attractive path. The trouble is these paths, enticing as they might be, have a nasty habit of ending in a smoking hole."
Mistakes happen to the author when he doesn't do things right - he takes an "appealing" alternative. How many times in our lives are we faced with a decision only to take the road more appealing, rather than toughing it out doing the RIGHT thing? Recently, someone I once thought of as a dear friend took an option leading them to a physical, tangible sense of 'the best choice' - but perhaps at the cost of future stability, health or spiritual growth. As much as it hurt to see the wrong choice made, I have to come to grips with the fact the choice was theirs. No amount of reason would work - the were caught up in something that seemed appealing. It's not easy to see somebody choose poorly. I've run the entire course of emotions from sadness, to anger, to, lately, borderline hatred. Yeah. Strong word. Lately I've built resentment and had to remind myself to 'let things work out...to relax'.
Taking the above quote further, the article went on:
"(Why do we make mistakes?) It’s because we tend to weigh what we should do against what we want to do and, if the latter looks like a better deal, we often go with it instead of what’s right."
That's a very clear illustration of what I tried to articulate above in my commentary. We choose something that 'looks like the best choice' without regard to absolute right. To further illustrate;
My father and mother divorced some time ago. During the divorce my father had the chance to 'stick it' to my mom. When I asked why he didn't, he said "Just because I have the RIGHT to do something, doesn't mean it's the 'right thing to do'."
How do we decide which choice will likely lead to failure? The article advises:
"Keeping the proper motivation, along with healthy emotions and good attitudes, is a challenge. The first step is to be aware of your own state of mind and that of others around you. Regularly check your emotional state for anger, frustration or apathy."
The entire article is here:
https://crc.army.mil/knowledge/Articles_Apr_07/ask_human_factors.html
It's geared towards safety and junk, but I think there are elements (as I've tried to outline above) which can translate to many areas in life.
- dp
"During some recent do-it-yourself home improvement projects, I was reminded of two things. First, I make mistakes; and second, they typically happen when I don’t do things right in favor of an “appealing” alternative. This isn’t unlike what happens in the cockpit or on the road when following the rules is pre-empted for a more attractive path. The trouble is these paths, enticing as they might be, have a nasty habit of ending in a smoking hole."
Mistakes happen to the author when he doesn't do things right - he takes an "appealing" alternative. How many times in our lives are we faced with a decision only to take the road more appealing, rather than toughing it out doing the RIGHT thing? Recently, someone I once thought of as a dear friend took an option leading them to a physical, tangible sense of 'the best choice' - but perhaps at the cost of future stability, health or spiritual growth. As much as it hurt to see the wrong choice made, I have to come to grips with the fact the choice was theirs. No amount of reason would work - the were caught up in something that seemed appealing. It's not easy to see somebody choose poorly. I've run the entire course of emotions from sadness, to anger, to, lately, borderline hatred. Yeah. Strong word. Lately I've built resentment and had to remind myself to 'let things work out...to relax'.
Taking the above quote further, the article went on:
"(Why do we make mistakes?) It’s because we tend to weigh what we should do against what we want to do and, if the latter looks like a better deal, we often go with it instead of what’s right."
That's a very clear illustration of what I tried to articulate above in my commentary. We choose something that 'looks like the best choice' without regard to absolute right. To further illustrate;
My father and mother divorced some time ago. During the divorce my father had the chance to 'stick it' to my mom. When I asked why he didn't, he said "Just because I have the RIGHT to do something, doesn't mean it's the 'right thing to do'."
How do we decide which choice will likely lead to failure? The article advises:
"Keeping the proper motivation, along with healthy emotions and good attitudes, is a challenge. The first step is to be aware of your own state of mind and that of others around you. Regularly check your emotional state for anger, frustration or apathy."
The entire article is here:
https://crc.army.mil/knowledge/Articles_Apr_07/ask_human_factors.html
It's geared towards safety and junk, but I think there are elements (as I've tried to outline above) which can translate to many areas in life.
- dp