In order to understand the options open to us we have to understand which things in our cause and effect map we are able to influence. Also to make a better choice we must understand the consequences of the choices open to us. We can do this by thinking through the knock on impact of changing things on the system as a whole using our cause and effect maps.

Now for the philosophy!

All we have in life is time and choice as to how to use that time. I am the sum of all my previous choices and those of my parents before me.
We are always making choices. To live is to choose. Even doing nothing is a choice. Some choices are better than others. What do I mean by better? Better choices are conscious choices. Better choices give us more choices in future. It is rare that we have no choice (although we will attempt to convince ourselves that it is so). Lots of choice can be overwhelming and confusing and means that we must take greater care as we make our choices. We reveal our choices through our behaviours. We can only influence our own behaviour. It is through our behaviour that we influence others. We are always influencing others through our behaviours.


Act

The final stage in the DPM process is “act”.