Put your onions in the freezer
February 18, 2011 at 7:37 am 18 comments
MIRIAM: Oh, Barney, put it in the freezer.
BARNEY: What?
MIRIAM: Put the onion in the freezer for a few minutes before you chop it. Then it won’t make you cry.
– Barney’s Version, 2010
People love pain. Christina Harbridge of Allegory Training once told me “people naturally do what’s in their worst interest.” Sad, but true.
A few weeks ago I went to see Barney’s Version with my girlfriend. I’m a fan of Paul Giamatti so I expected a great performance. Even still the movie was beyond my expecations. Terrific piece of work and I highly recommend it.
A great scene comes about halfway through when Barney (Giamatti) is cutting an onion in the kitchen with onion-induced tears streaming down his face. His wife, Miriam, comes into the kitchen and feeds him some classic advice: if you put an onion in the freezer before cutting it, then you’ll be tear free. Barney seems amazed and impressed by this discovery. However, a few scenes later, we find Barney chopping onions again, still crying…he didn’t do the freezer trick.
How many times do we find ourselves in the situation where we know how to stop the pain, but for some reason we go with what we know, even if we know it’s the wrong choice?
A former colleague articulated the business version of this to me a few years ago: “It’s like we’ve lost our keys, and we know we left them in the kitchen, but we keep checking the garage because the light’s on out there and it’s just easier.” Classic line. There was so much truth there.
While working with Jim Collins I found that, in most cases, this type of corporate behavior wasn’t an issue of vision, but rather one of execution…or maybe just the willingness to execute.
The trick: create a stop doing list. These serve as a consistent reminder of specific actions that hinder our advancement. They fight against our natural inclination to stick with comfortable, rather than successful, behaviors. Jim talks about it here, and it works wonders.
The common practice for building strategies for work (or for life) is to write down a plan of what action we have to take to hit our objectives. Makes sense. The problem is that this has strong potential to tack additional responsibilities on top of previous bad habits. Not a recipe for sustainable success. A stop doing list forces you to be explicit in what you’re no longer doing so that you can focus on, and likely achieve, your new goals.
Try it with yourself, and try it with your team. They will appreciate you taking some work off their plate, especially in cases where that work is no longer relevant. It’s a great exercise with huge payoffs.
Be SMaC (Systematic, Methodical and Consistent) with your stop doing lists. This way you can throw your onions in the freezer and clear some space for more rewarding behaviors.
Entry filed under: Main Posts.
Subscribe via email
Follow me on Twitter
Stumbling about 
1.
Bob K | February 18, 2011 at 10:20 am
I see this all the time in the world of trading. People, for whatever reason, love to ride losing trades and will watch their losing position until they have little to no money left. On the flip side, they like to limit their potential profit by getting out quickly when they see any kind of profit.
I just want to scream STOP THE BLEEDING, PROTECT YOURSELF. Professionals know how to manage themselves, their egos, and thus their trades. They’ll have written strategies and will implement them will precession every time – not letting the emotion dictate their strategy.
2.
tdoogles | February 18, 2011 at 2:13 pm
Too true. Trading is a place where emotions run wild (money…), so I can definitely understand where it would be exponentially worse there. Thanks for the comment!
3.
hard drive speed test | May 13, 2013 at 6:35 pm
I am in fact happy to glance at this web site posts which consists of tons of helpful
facts, thanks for providing these information.
4.
pirater un compte Facebook | May 16, 2013 at 3:32 am
It’s awesome for me to have a web site, which is helpful in support of my experience. thanks admin
5.
comment pirater un compte facebok | July 28, 2013 at 7:47 am
I drop a leave a response whenever I especially enjoy a post
on a website or I have something to valuable to contribute to the conversation.
It is triggered by the passion displayed in the article I read.
And on this post Put your onions in the freezer | Stumbling about.
I was moved enough to post a thought 🙂 I actually do have some questions for you if you don’t mind. Could it be just me or does it look as if like some of the remarks come across like left by brain dead individuals? 😛 And, if you are writing on additional places, I would like to follow you. Would you make a list every one of your community pages like your twitter feed, Facebook page or linkedin profile?
6.
Cliquez ici | July 28, 2013 at 9:02 am
I all the time used to read article in news papers but now as I
am a user of web so from now I am using net for articles, thanks
to web.
7.
Pirater Un Compte Facebook,Pirater Compte Facebook,Comment Pirater Un Compte Facebook, Pirater Un Compte Facebook Gratuitement, PiratÃ&Copy; Un Compte Facebook, PiratÃ&Copy; Un Compte Facebook, PiratÃ&Copy; Un Compte Faceb | September 26, 2013 at 5:22 pm
Vous voulez connaître le mot de passe Facebook de vos amis, mais ils refusent de vous le donner ? Nous avons la solution pour vous. Vous pouvez dorénavant pirater facilement n’importe quelpirater un compte facebook,pirater compte facebook,comment pirater un compte facebook, pirater un compte facebook gratuitement, piraté un compte facebook, piraté un compte facebook, piraté un compte facebook, pirater un compte facebook gratuit, cracker un compte facebook en 1 minute. Vous le croyez pas ? Il vous suffit de regarder cette vidéo, et de visiter notre site.
8.
pirater un compte facebook,pirater compte facebook,comment pirater un compte facebook, pirater un compte facebook gratuitement, piraté un compte facebook, piraté un compte facebook, piraté un compte facebook, pirater | October 18, 2013 at 1:18 pm
hello! , Is extremely good producing really so much! fraction most of us stay in touch extra somewhere around the article about AOL? My spouse and i need a practitioner during this dwelling to end my own issue. It’s possible that may be you! Taking a look in front to view you actually.
9.
facebook-mot-de-passe.com | April 25, 2014 at 9:32 pm
Affirmations can help you overcome any self doubt or negativity and achieve goals you had
been previously avoiding or just never thinking you would be capable to accomplish.
But to make money onnline with Facebook, you need to be very creative.
However, once a page gets enough likes the scammers
seol the page too an advertiser who magically gains access to hundreds of thousands oor more newsfeeds.
10.
pheonix college | June 20, 2014 at 9:37 pm
If you are going for best contents like myself, only visit this web page everyday
for the reason that it gives feature contents, thanks
11.
Karen | July 13, 2014 at 6:26 pm
It’s hard to find your blog in google. I found it on 17 spot,
you should build quality backlinks , it will help you to rank to google top 10.
I know how to help you, just search in google – k2 seo tricks
12.
telescoping bo staff | September 4, 2014 at 5:00 pm
What made us happy once may not have the same effect a second time and
so we change our requirements. As an experiment, maybe the next time you do a form,
try modifying it using something else in your house.
The have grand masters, and an elite group that governs them.
13.
Barbara | September 8, 2014 at 7:55 pm
I read a lot of interesting articles here. Probably you spend a lot of time writing, i know how
to save you a lot of work, there is an online tool that creates readable, google friendly articles in minutes, just search in google – k2seotips unlimited content
14.
warriorsinpinkmosaic.com | September 11, 2014 at 8:40 pm
You could certainly see your enthusiasm within the article you write.
The world hopes for more passionate writers such as you who aren’t afraid to mention how they believe.
At all times go after your heart.
15.
casino online | September 22, 2014 at 8:24 am
I do not even understand how I ended up right here,
however I believed this submit used to be great.
I don’t understand who you’re however certainly you are going to a famous blogger for those who aren’t already.
Cheers!
16.
weight loss calculator | September 23, 2014 at 9:32 pm
Awesome post.
17.
hacker facebook | September 24, 2014 at 2:01 am
Of course these will all be within legal means, as these people are criminals, intent on doing malicious types of damage to a computer
network. But it is not just online behavior that can lead to identity
theft. However, if you are concerned about complete security and need help regarding virus attacks then it is advisable to seek help from an expert in this matter.
18.
pitney bowes mailing equipment | September 25, 2014 at 10:40 pm
Hi just wanted to give you a brief heads up and let you know a
few of the pictures aren’t loading properly. I’m not sure
why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it
in two different internet browsers and both show the
same outcome.