“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.” –Richard P. Feynman, Nobel price-winning physicist
I recently came across this quote and it made me stop in my tracks and ponder its significance.
I reflected on a time when I witnessed a manager in a coaching session say that it was the other 249 people at his facility that had a problem and he was just fine. What prompted this discussion is that the employee hotline had received a record number of complaints about him. As a result, he was approached with the idea of getting coaching versus being fired. His response to me right in front of his boss he was just fine and that the other 249 people are the ones who need coaching.
Another example that is more commonly shared is with regard to time. Something along the lines of, "Well, if I only had the time to do____________ I would be able to _____________.
We all know that the first blank is filled with an item that is uncomfortable or requires an effort that they are not presently ready or willing to put forth.
I could fill the blanks in several ways. Some of the first that come to mind are...
work out: lose weight
read more: get farther ahead
yardwork: host BBQ's
get to know my employees: strengthen relationships in the office
cook: eat healthier
prospect: get new clients
Let’s use this quote as a reference point or guide to uncover what we might be fooling ourselves about.
The truth is he completely believed himself to be right when the rest of us know he was only fooling himself.
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