Break it Up. Tie it Down. Cross it Off.

Humans have a bias towards survival and saving energy. It’s built into the wiring of the brain to avoid risk and choose the easier of two options when possible.  Large commitments can feel Overwhelming and Difficult— which lowers engagement.  

One of the fastest shortcuts to build trust and engagement when presented with a large commitment or project is to break it up into smaller pieces, tie down the sequence of those pieces and then cross each off when done. 

When faced with starting anything large, SOMEONE’S BRAIN HAS TO DO THE WORK —either your brain before you engage, or the brain of the person with whom you are trying to engage. Someone has to think about “Where to START?  What’s the SINGLE most important piece? And What is the SMALLEST minimum component?”

When people feel overwhelmed their brain releases two chemicals… cortisol and adrenaline (risk and anxiety chemicals) which research shows make it very hard for people to do that kind of thinking.   Here is where we can be our Best and BE BOLD…and engage others to BE BOLD TOGETHER with us..  taking steps FORWARD in the face of risk, showing confidence and standing out by doing so. By creating a checklist or a map with steps to follow we’re saying we’ve done this before, and we make getting started easier. Checklists also allow us to get agreement on the sequence and importance of each component, through a series of small yeses we confirm understanding and allow participation…. a yes momentum can be built. 

And every time we cross something off a list the Brain releases dopamine — dopamine is one of the reward chemicals in the brain and our brain wants to do more of that…. So in this way, a thing in motion is more likely to stay in motion.

Now take this tip and REMIND yourself to do three things with a large commitment…. 1… Break it up into smaller pieces looking for the Smallest, Single Most Important Thing, to get Started… 2….. Tie it Down with mutual agreement on each piece, and 3…. work together to Cross it off the List… doing these things Lowers Risk, Saves Energy, and INCREASES ENGAGEMENT.