One Thing Leads to Another — Consequential Thinking!

One of the things not a lot of people know about me is that I went to an English boarding school for the last three years before University.

I won't get into the experience of those years... however, one of the things I would enjoy — weirdo that I was — what Sundays when I was "Duty Prefect" I would sit in the common room and watch Open University on TV while everyone else had been bused off to chapel.

I not only enjoyed the two hours of silence and non-chaos, I enjoyed learning all sorts of things.

One of the lessons that really had a deep impact on my life... and continues to do so, to this day... was a 3-Sunday course in "Consequential Thinking."

Which is a somewhat fancy way of saying think things THROUGH before you act on them!

Of course, that is sometimes easier said than done. And it's also challenging, because gaining an understanding of how any and everything we do has the potential to set off an entire string of consequential events means you often find yourself viewing the entire world as rather reckless and impulsive.

I suppose consequentialism is really more about ethics than philosophy, in the sense that the ultimate objective is about thinking things through in service of doing no harm: An action that results in both immediate and distant benefits is regarded as "good," while an action that might be good for you in the immediate but otherwise is harmful to others or your environment is regarded as "bad."

I suppose one of the reasons I related so deeply with these particular philosophical leanings was that it seemed to overlap so much with how I lived my life, anyway.

The thing is, I was never one of those energetic, risk taking kids who was always "into something." Oh, I was a participant, alright... but my approach to life was rather slow and deliberate. Adrenaline was only my friend as part of a well mapped out plan, not as a spur of the moment thing.

To wit: Later on, during my University days, I actually ran into a small tornado, just as an experience and so see what was there. But I was very well prepared!

But, to bring the bunny back around, it's amazing how much things in this world are connected! You do something that — at first glance — might seem like very "local" and just in this moment... but it turns out to actually be connected to a very long chain of events.

You might have heard of the "Butterfly Effect" — the hypothetical idea that a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil might cause a storm somewhere in Europe, if you just pursue the causal chain far enough.

Of course, I don't take any of this to extremes... but it does mean that I tend to think things through — often to the frustration of those around me — before taking action!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great remainder of your week!

How about you? Do you ever think through how your next action might have impact, over time? Have you ever heard of "consequential thinking?" Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 2024.11.26 00:31 PST
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