The Future of Maintenance – 26 – The power of choice

We always have a choice. The pool of available alternatives to select from is usually gorgeous. However, we might see it very narrow and shallow. Then based on our consciousness of what we have in hand and what we can do next, our available choices broaden or get narrower. Sometimes we see that there is inly one choice available for us. This is true but only from a limited point of view. The limitations we see in the available alternatives is usually a result of lack of information. Or more accurately, lack of information of good quality i.e. clear, updated and applicable information.

It is a disgrace to attribute our limited choices to the lack of information. That’s can’t be a valid excuse in the information era. The reality is that our believes are the real reason behind this shortened foresight. If we believe that there is no way to find the solution to our question, then there will be no solution available. On the other an, If we insist that there is a way out of this, a way will unfold carrying the answer to our question.

Other times the root cause it is much simpler. Simply, we keep on building upon old information that are not updated. In a developed community either at work or in life, the new version of the updated information find its way to all concerned. But, this is not the case everywhere. As a solution to this, we can find our way through this by simply asking. Now, How this is related to maintenance? Let’s see

Why we make choices?

Think when you feel bored at work or over stressed. Do you think of changing your work place? Do you think of changing your career? What if your current career or work doesn’t seem to take you where you see yourself after three or five years, what you will do? What if you see an opportunity for improvement, will you speak it out loud? When you are not satisfied with your current performance or your team performance, will you take an action? Lastly but not least important, what if you come to know about a new tool or technology that would yield better results, will you try to apply it? Or at least learn more about it?

Embracing any of this changes would need a choice to do things differently. That’s not any easy choice for many of us. So, why we make choices? Apparently we make choices to make changes or discard possible changes coming our way.

Many times we keep doing same old stuff to avoid the ambiguity that arise from doing different things or doing things differently. Unfortunately doing things same way would never yield new results. Moreover, with time. continuing to do things same way might result in unwanted results. Why? Because other things changed with time in the context we were used to. So, our default action is not the best action any more.

What if we didn’t make choices?

This coincides with Murphy’s Seventh Law:  Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse. You can read a brief about Murphy’s laws in this chat Are you 100% sure? This takes us to a human fundamental contradiction.

One of the human contradictions is that from one side we seek control over of life. But in most situation we rely on our subconscious reactions that might be not serving us. Or, it might be serving us, who knows!. This depends on our conscious choice and awareness. Holding to how things currently are in our life and our work is as if we want life to stop changing. Moreover, we want everything to continue to be the same forever. This will lead us to live the same year 80 or 90 times instead of exploring a new year every year. This way we miss most of the life adventures which makes life livable.

However in its own making a choice to put the effort to keep everything as it is, is a choice in its own. Even choosing not to make a choice is a choice. This particular choice will open the door to choices of the others to control our life. Or not. It depends if others want to control our life or not. But they usually do as part of their contradiction.

Claim the power of choice by asking the right question

As a ground rule, what you consider right is right for you based on your context and mental construction. The context that you are in and your mental construction were built over years and they tell you what’s right and what’s wrong for you. The good thing is that you can build new ones any time you see that the old ones do not serve you. By the way, they the context you are in and you mental construction evolve naturally with time. It is subconsciously tuned by the mass consciousness.

What we present here are some guide lines that seems commonly agreed upon from those who managed to change their lives by asking. Religiously, we are all bound to the idea of ask and you will be given. However, you ask for something specific to you whether it is broad or well defined. The warning here is not to ask someone else to take the decision for you or dictate what you should do next.

So if you want to chose whether to eat apples or oranges, don’t ask shall we take apple or orange? Similarly, don’t ask someone else if it is better to change work or to do something differently. Ask, what if I want to change my work, what I need to do? If I want to find a better maintenance tactic, ask how to find the best maintenance tactic for my XYZ equipment? And, so on. Ask for the way. Ask a lot. Then when you have enough information chose which way you will go. There is nothing wrong about any choice. It a simple rule that every choice comes with its own set of next steps and consequences.

In Conclusion,

Ask for the information and knowledge that will help you make up your mind about this situation in life or work. However do not spare your effort in asking again when you come to the same choice again. Why? Because with time your context change even if you don’t realize it. Even more, you yourself change with time. Your set of values and mental construction had been shaped by many factors along the road between when you made the choice between route A and route B few month or years ago.

Any choice is possible even it seems impossible for others. All what you need is to be aware of the consequences of this choice. Increasing your awareness in a way that helps you make your choice easily is simply a process of collecting enough information that clarifies the ambiguity around the consequences of each alternative.

Last two important notes. Not making a choice is a choice but you can’t rely on it for long. The universe is crafted to provide alternatives and opportunities to change generously. So don’t be afraid from missing a chance, you will be able to catch it up around the corner of the next choice-making stop.

But is it only rationality point systems that guides our choices or there is another secret ingredient in the story? Let’s delve more soon.