Three "if" scenarios

When my daughter was a teenager, she went to a Renaissance Festival, and saw a sign at a craft booth at the fair.  When she came home she told me that if she had any money she would have bought the sign for me, because it was perfect for me.  The sign said, "Don't tell me not to worry.  It is what I do best and I have been doing it my whole life."

I took an online test once, that purported to determine what kind of learner each person is.  The test determined that I have a naturally chaotic learning style.

So, what that basically means is I am a chaotic worrier.  There is no order or logic to what I worry about.  Rational, irrational, doesn't matter.  If I get stuck on the thing to worry about it, I am more tenacious than a terrier with a bone.

Being me, I analyzed what to do about this tendency to fixate and worry, and I determined a methodology to discard certain scenarios from the things I worry about.  Hence, the three "if" scenario.

To put things in the simplest terms possible, if there are three if statements in the scenario, it is too improbable to worry about, so it can be discarded.

Here is an example.  When I was working and frequently facilitating learning events, one of my favorite things to worry about was that I wouldn't be able to find the venue where I was supposed to facilitate.   So here is the scenario.

I wake up at 3 am.  What if I can't find the facility?  That is one "if", so worth the worry.  But I have directions, and an address, the cell phone number of my host, a GPS, and I am budgeting an extra hour to get there early.  So, the worry becomes, what if I get lost, and the address is wrong, and my GPS doesn't work, and my host doesn't answer their cell phone.  Four "ifs"; go back to sleep.

The great thing about practicing the three "if" scenario sorting hierarchy is that it is just as handy for planning as it is for worrying.   I'll give another example.

What if my book gets published, and someone wants to make it into a movie, and George Clooney doesn't want to play Jean-Luc?  Three ifs.  No need to think about finding a different leading man.

Honestly, once you start practicing the three "if" scenario thinking, it is incredibly liberating. If you are a worrier, or prone to courting disappointment, it will help you turn away from the ridiculous.

It is also a great tool when you are asked for advice.  When someone postulates any scenario to you, you can count the "ifs", and if there are three or more, you can teach them about three "if" scenario sorting and discarding.

I know that since I started employing three "if" scenario thinking, I have freed up enormous amounts of time to think about other things.  Like this blog, and my books, and how I can make the world a better place.

So here I am.  Making the world a better place, one handy methodology at a time.