If your dog is fat, then you’re not getting enough exercise. ~Author Unknown

If you build it, he will come. Field of Dreams

I had the good fortune to lunch with a new colleague this week.  A lovely woman with a story, as we all are, who was overwhelmed with questions about how to go about her job, about what she should know, about her instincts, about her place in the department, about, about, about.  I found myself giving advice.  I didn’t think I gave advice but the words that came out of my mouth had come out before.  If this, then that.  What?  It’s a formula I use for too many things coming at me at once.  If this, then that.

I found this formula many years ago when I was learning Excel.  It truly is a formula, based in logic. Yes simple logic, conditional logic.  With an implication.  It’s just a compound sentence that can sort out what seems like insurmountable data.  Just basic programing that contains a trigger and an action.

But I find myself using it for everything.  I don’t even realize it sometimes.  Standing in front of the fridge I find myself saying:  If I eat that, then I’ll beat myself up all night, get adgita, weigh more tomorrow….Driving in the car: If I flip this guy the bird for thinking that he can cut me off then I’ll definitely chip away at my Karmic equity.  If I smile at this crabby barista then my coffee will be amazing and maybe their day will be better too.

I don’t add any words like: What if I?  No no no, that makes it an entirely different question and anything “what if” will definitely send you into an abyss.  That’s part of the coulda, shoulda, woulda family for sure.

And the “then” part should never be: and then I’ll be happy…oh no don’t do that.  If I lose weight, if I get a new job, if I find a new partner, if I dye my hair, if I wear these clothes…then I’ll be happy.  Stop that right now…If you want to be happy just make the choice.

This is a life formula but of course there are other if-this-then-that formulas.  IFTTT.com gives you recipes for anything from:  If the temperature in the house goes to 75⁰ then turn on the air conditioning. Prevents you from heat stroking the cat as I read recently on mashable.com.  IFTTT.com is pronounced “gift” without the G.  You can join the service for free and set up any number of trigger/action recipes. And yes, there’s an app for that.

Then there’s something called if/then planning.  You can use it for almost anything too.  For example: If it’s 2pm I’ll have a coffee.  If someone stays too long at my desk I’ll set a timer for five minutes and sound a reminder alarm for a “conference call”.  See ya yackity yack.  Or if it’s 3pm I finish answering my emails.  Many people find this if/then planning helpful by preventing aimless wandering through tasks that wind up taking longer than they should.

There are if/then charts for kids now too. If there is too much arguing then you will have additional chores.  It’s got a list of the most common infractions and consequences and can be purchased through doorposts.net.

Long before it was a service or a planning tool or a parental control is was simply a logical way to sort things out.  A beautiful formula to live by, one that you could call upon at any time, in any situation.

If you click here then you’ll get more good advice.