The Domino Effect – Finding the One Thing to Work On

domino

Dominoes are a game of chance, similar to dice or playing cards. The game is characterized by the placement of dominoes in an arrangement and the use of pips (or spots) to represent values. Traditional domino sets have one unique piece for every possible combination of numbers from one to six spots. Larger sets can have more than 50 pieces.

The Domino Effect: Finding the One Thing to Work On

If you’re feeling stuck or overwhelmed in a certain area of your business, take inspiration from the classic game of dominoes and apply it to your next big initiative. Just like the first small domino generates enough energy to knock down larger ones, you can create a chain of small activities that will help you move the next big project forward.

For example, if you want to improve your leadership skills, start by picking one new skill you’re interested in learning and make it your focus for the next few months. This is a great way to build confidence and momentum in your pursuit of that new interest while keeping you on track with your other priorities.

Find a coach to believe in your dream and keep you on track, knocking down bigger and bigger dominoes

As you work on that one small activity, try to build momentum around it. This may be by creating a team meeting to talk about the new interest, writing a brief about it, or asking for feedback.

Then, set up a follow-up meeting to check in and ensure you’re moving forward with the idea. Taking this approach will help you avoid the “flash in the pan” syndrome that can cause so many projects to fail before they’re even fully developed.

Domino artist Lily Hevesh grew up playing with dominoes, and she began posting videos of her creations online when she was 10 years old. She has since become a professional domino artist with a YouTube channel with more than 2 million subscribers.

She says her biggest domino installations require a lot of time and patience to set up, but the final product is worth it. Her setups, which are sometimes a quarter-mile long, are triggered by gravity.

In a 1983 study, University of British Columbia physicist Lorne Whitehead demonstrated the power of this phenomenon: A domino can knock down an object that is half the size of itself.

But what’s more, Whitehead found that the same phenomenon can be applied to our lives and our personal goals. That’s because when we make small commitments to new behaviors, they cascade into other areas of our life and help us build identity-based habits.

This is why so many people struggle to achieve their full potential. We can often get so bogged down in trying to tackle too many things at once, that we lose sight of what’s most important and fail to progress.

This is why a mental model like the domino chain can be so powerful. If you can find a coach who believes in your goal and keeps you on track, that is an ideal way to achieve success in 2022 and beyond.