Fear and Why We Do The Things We Do

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I've been thinking, reading and talking a lot lately.  It's part of my process to get unstuck.  And in that process, I tend to look back on past clients, projects, jobs, life altering moments, etc.  I wonder why I find myself these days living in a Groundhog Day moment, watching nonprofits repeat the mistakes of the past instead of learning from them.  It makes me wonder...How do we learn?  How do we get unstuck? 
 
I think we will always make mistakes.  Gee I hope so.....because perfection would be boring.  I would just like us to make new mistakes....for that's how I think we can learn and grow.  I think about -- how critical business decisions are often made -- not based on facts or science or something measurable or clinical but in the end after all of the due diligence that an organization may endeavor to attain, we (as humans) are moved by emotion; by our perceptions, real or not; and at the heart or root, our fears.
 
SO...I challenge you -- the movers and shakers of this world.  The next time you're about to make a major and potentially, costly decision -- take a moment.  Breathe.  Step back from yourself and the issue and ask yourself.  Why am I making this decision over that one?  Is it based on the facts?  Or my perception of the facts?  Is it because if I don't make this decision, my job is in jeopardy or I am in jeopardy?  Am I trying to save face with my boss?  The Board?  The Executive Director?  Are all of these issues really clouding my ability to see the truth of the situation and make the best decision for the organization divorced of my own pre-conceptions?  And if so, how to do you find your way to the best answer for the organization and not yourself?
 
Food for thought.  A funny expression but all too true.  My brain is truly hungry for the answer to why we do the things we do.

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