The law of diminishing intentions

If you let yourself be distracted by minor considerations, nothing important will ever get finished.
Confucius
551 – 479 BC

One of the rituals at our house is to go through the Sunday newspaper and pull out the manufacturer’s coupons for items we normally use; the coupons offer a discount if you buy a specific product by a certain date. Toothpaste, toothbrushes, and paper towels are just a few of the coupons we tear out each Sunday. Most of them aren’t going to be used immediately, so they go into a folder or a kitchen drawer.

One other ritual we have is to go through the coupon folder every few months and throw away the expired coupons. And guess what? At least half of the coupons that go into the file expire unused.

I know this practice isn’t limited to our house. In fact, I think it’s rather common. Psychologists attribute this behavior to the law of diminishing intentions, which says that the longer the time interval between the intent to take action and taking the action, the less likely we are to act. Said differently, our intent diminishes with time. We fully intend to use the coupons when we clip them. But the longer the coupons are in the folder, the less likely they are to be used.

Part of the reason is that we forget which coupons we’ve collected. Our minds are bombarded with too much information and too many demands. Things slip to the back of our minds and then totally disappear from our radar.

There are several important lessons here. As an individual, you’ve probably heard that the best way to achieve your goals is to write them down and review them daily. You need to keep your most important intentions on the front burner. Don’t file them away in a place you only check every few months. Unless you keep your goals firmly in mind, some of them will expire unfilled.

If you’re in the business of offering services to others, then you must stay in touch. You’ve heard the expression “out of sight, out of mind”? It’s true. Your clients or customers have lots of pressing concerns. Make sure they don’t forget about you — otherwise your name won’t come up when the client has a need. Keep in touch.

We forget things all too easily. Therefore, in your role as parent, manager or advisor, if you want your message to be acted on, do what advertisers do: repeat yourself often. Most messages that are only delivered once aren’t remembered or heeded.

If communication resonates with you, the best way to lock in that message is to act. The action serves to reinforce the message.

What’s the value of an unused coupon? Nothing. Likewise, what’s the value of a lesson that we learn but never implement? About the same as an expired coupon. The value is in the execution, not the advice.

It is no profit to have learned well, if you neglect to do well.
Publilius Syrus

Copyright © 2012 John Chancellor

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