Humans have been wondering what causes things to happen since, well, things began happening. Last fortnight, I promised you that this blog would totter back into the realms of Pseudsville in discussing cause and effect(s)…so this is one for those of you who like to scratch heads, ponder circumstances and consider your position in this great United Plandom.

Important note: as I write this, we have learned today that Russian forces have invaded Ukraine. Make Me A Plan would like to send heartfelt thoughts and prayers to anyone scared or threatened by this declaration of war. We have taken the decision to continue with publishing today’s blog but there will not be any references to causality on a global or geopolitical level in our piece and any comments are intended to be thought-provoking generally  rather than referring to any current incidents.

What causes things?

It sounds like a pretty elementary question. Yet, in the week of Twosday, it seems to this Philosopher-In-Residence that many of the questions where we do know the causality answers are themselves pretty elementary. We know that mixing blue and yellow together causes green. We know that failing to wash our hands can cause illness and infection.

But we still often struggle to see things from another’s point of view, or to understand their actions. What made someone jump to the wrong conclusion in the email they sent you? Why did the fellow commuter cut you up on the road earlier today? Who dropped litter outside my home?

Are humans hard-wired to try and find blame?

Think about those last few questions posited and the kind of visceral or emotional response they caused in you. I’d wager that you didn’t answer instinctively “maybe because that person was having a bad day” as your first guess. But, if you were asked to list reasons why something like that might happen (especially if this was hypothetical), then your brain would furrow to find a variety of options and weigh up their likelihood before adding them to the list.

Can we change this?

To make change we have to understand root causes (I did say this blog would be all about causality). Breaking the blame habit is exceptionally difficult, you may be guilty of the “blame-lite” habit of retro-fitting explanations to outcomes by reasoning rather than research or burden of proof.

What can I do?

To try and change this particular habit, you need to make a conscious, deliberate effort to think of non-blaming potential reasons instinctively. Try keeping a note by the phone, desk, in the car, bedside table so that you see a reminder to be positive before reverting to “pesky phone ringing/other road users are imbeciles” self-conditioning.

To create the headspace for that habit change, you can set aside some self-development time to learn things you don’t already know. It can be anything from making yourself something rather than buying it to enrolling in a course, but widening your horizons has never failed to widen your perspectives.

Next fortnight, I’ll be musing On When and how, in the words of the late Frank Carson, it’s all about the…timing.

Please get in touch with any particular aspects of this topic you’d like me to write about.

In the meantime,

Happy Planning

PS If you want some other free tips for your business life, check out the Working Well blog – out fortnightly on Wednesdays, courtesy of Make Me A Plan’s Productivity Expert, Penny Le Kelly. Browse the latest edition here:

https://www.makemeaplan.com/news/fairtrade-fortnight/