State of Mind Coaching & Training

Getting someone to take action is the thing we all strive for. 

Have you ever noticed that getting someone to agree to something is easier immediately after you’ve motivated them to do something?  Have you ever gotten to the point where you realize your children own you this way?  I’m there.

For example, when my child was at the ripe young age of 2, she often would come into the master bedroom and wake me up.  This was usually just as early as she was in her lifespam…early!  One time, but no the only time, I wake up to her demanding breakfast.  Normally, I would act dumb and not understand what she was saying.  “I want bekfet!”  I should have told her to say it clearly or she’s not getting it. ;-)   After some resistance, she changed course.  She says, “Get dressed.”  In my pajamas, already, I said, “I am dressed!” 

When you get someone into the state that you want them, attach it to what you want them to do. 

That’s the point I knew she had me.  See, She knows I have an innate desire to keep her alive and kicking by keeping her fed.  She knows I have my pajamas on because she has already tried her best to rip the covers off the bed.  She knows that if she can get me to agree out loud that I’m already dressed, therefore able to walk into the kitchen with dignity, that she can throw out the clincher.  “I am dressed!”  To which she unhesitatingly brings closure, “Then get up.” 

And, there you have it.  The “If – Then” assumption.  This leads to that.  If we’d satisfied this, then that is presupposed.”  I have a feeling she would have said “then get up” even if I had defended myself differently.  It’s really the ultimate trap.  No matter what I would have said after her set up, she could have pulled that one out. 

When you meet with someone and you want them to start off where they left off when you set the appointment in the first place, say “What was the reason you agreed to meet with me when we talked the other day?”  This does more than just help them live up to their committments, it also sets up the presupposition that if you can convince them that you’ve fulfilled that need, whatever it is, they should go to the next step that you set up. 

Sometimes one thing can lead to another, though.

“If you say you are 100% purest, then you are a raciest, if you say your not a a raciest then you are a hypocrite, if then you say your not a hypocrite then you must be lieing”
-Anonymous quote off the web

Photo credit:  petrichor