I don’t think there’s enough meat to make this into a GTD or even a DSN-style mantra.
I’ve been thinking about outcome based actions. This is where you make decisions on your next action based not on what you want to do now but rather based on what result you might want in the future. This requires obviously a bit more reflection and forethought but it’s been valuable to me in business, in gaming and also in personal living.
On the face of it, it makes me sound like a “schemer” because I’m trying to think of the Big Picture when dealing with friends, family and co-workers.
It can lead to you being a little detached at times but that’s not a bad thing. I still feel passionately about things, still have boundless enthusiasm for the things that make me happy but when faced with adversity or an argument, I think it’s better to react with thought, patience and calm. This isn’t to say that emotive thinking is wrong but in my experience I’ve regretted more decisions made in the heat of the moment than I have decisions where I had time to consider possibilities, not with cold logic, but with time to consider both the logical process and the emotive process. One without the other is bad, mmmkay?
Make decisions based not on your personal needs that day or the conversation you just had but always ask, “Is that what you want?”