Let me introduce to you William.

William is a smart, quiet, introvert with a dry sense of humor and a generous spirit. He’s 20 years old, a college student and has never been very good at talking to women.

One day, a girl that he has liked for months sits next to him in his chemistry class. He is nervous, but knows that he needs to summon the courage to talk to women he likes one of these days.

Then, by a stroke of luck, the professor assigns the two of them to work on a project together. He starts building a friendship with her. He is awkward at times, but they generally get along well.

After a week of working together, they exchange phone numbers so that they can collaborate on the project better. With her number in hand, William wants to call her and ask her out on a date, but he is incredibly scared. 

THE DREADED ACT OF VULNERABILITY 

William runs through every possible scenario in his head.  

What if he messes up and sounds weird on the phone?

What if she says “no”? The rest of the project is going to be extremely awkward!

What if she says “yes” just out of pity?

The more he contemplates the many negative scenarios that could occur, the more he feels the pain of rejection. He begins to convince himself that the risk is not worth it.

After all, there are so many possible negative scenarios and only one positive one in which she says "yes" and eventually becomes his girlfriend!

Is that really worth the potential pain of rejection and awkwardness?

WHAT WOULD YOU TELL WILLIAM TO DO?

According to a study, more than 70% of people would tell William to take the chance. Because what does it really matter if she says “no”? Plus, he will have taken the first step to getting over his fear of talking to women!

Sure, it may be a little bit awkward, but isn’t living a life in fear worse? He has to summon the courage to put himself out there sometime!

But, when the tables are turned, and people are asked what they would do in the same situation, only 30% of people said they would ask the girl out on the date! It seems that we have courage for others, but still fear the consequences for ourselves. [1] 

You have probably been in a similar position to William at some point in your life. It may not have been to ask a girl out on a date, but any situation where we have to make ourselves vulnerable feels the same way.

Asking our boss for a 10% raise. 

Making friends in a new city, new job or at a new school. 

Lifting weights at the gym when we don’t know what we’re doing.

Putting our creative work out there for the whole world to scrutinize.

It doesn’t matter what the act of vulnerability is, we imagine all of the possible negative outcomes and fear what might happen. So we usually keep to ourselves. We don’t take that risk because we feel like it just is not worth it.

So how do we become as brave as when we are giving advice? How can we fear the short-term consequences less and be able to see the incredible benefits of being more vulnerable? The answer is by following the 10-10-10 Rule.

THE 10-10-10 RULE 

Put yourself back in William’s shoes. Let's say that he decides that he is going to call her and ask her out on a date.

How will he feel about the decision 10 minutes after?

Maybe a little embarrassed and worried about what their project will be like if she says "no". But he will probably still feel proud that he overcame his fear and did it.

But if she says “yes”, he will feel elated! He will be proud of the fact that he overcame his fear and excited about the fact that he has a date with a girl that he really likes!

How will he feel about the decision 10 months after?

He will either have completely forgotten about the dreaded phone call if she said “no”, or there's a chance that he could have a girlfriend!

How will he feel about the decision 10 years after?

He will either have completely forgotten about the girl, or there's a small chance he will have met his soul mate.

From this perspective, are the risks still greater than the potential payoff?

We have a tendency to overvalue the moments that are right in front of us. From our current lens, we can't see that decisions like these mean very little to our long-term happiness. So in moments like this, it helps to change our perspective to think about things from a longer timeline.

HOW TO APPLY THE 10-10-10 RULE

The next time you come face to face with a tough decision to put yourself in a vulnerable situation, go through this mental exercise. [2]

Asking your boss for a 10% raise

How will you feel about the decision 10 minutes after?

Either elated because you now have a raise, or a little bit embarrassed, but also maybe with a bit of clarity that you should test the job market to see if you'll find someone else who values you.

10 months after - you could be 10% richer or you could be happy in a new position somewhere else.

10 years after - you could have found that asking for a raise put you on a better career path within your company, or glad that you didn't waste your years in a company that didn't value you.

The same can be applied to every one of those scenarios. The hard decision, the one that puts you in a vulnerable situation, almost always looks like the better choice once you take the time to look at the big picture.

You can also use the 10-10-10 rule to achieve any one of your many goals.

Going to the gym

10 minutes from now - you may be suffering a little going through your workout, but ultimately you'll be proud of yourself for going. Or you may be happy that you got the day off, but maybe feeling guilty that you skipped your workout.

10 months from now - you may have developed the habit of exercising regularly, or feeling stuck and ashamed that you haven't made any progress.

10 years from now - you may have finally achieved the body that you have always wanted, or maybe suffering some long-term health consequences of not exercising regularly.

Choosing to study rather than procrastinate

10 minutes from now - perhaps a little bored with the studying, but glad that you're making progress. Or feeling entertained by whatever you're procrastinating with, but also a little stressed about the test coming up. 

10 months from now - the grade that you got, whether good or bad, is now a permanent mark on your record. So you hope that you did what you could to ensure it was a good one.

10 years from now - it probably didn't make a whole lot of difference, but it could have been the difference between getting into a school you wanted and settling for your second choice. This could have led you on two very different life paths. 

From this new perspective, it becomes much easier to use your willpower to make the right decision.

You might hate every single minute leading up to putting yourself out there, but the 10-10-10 rule will remind you that it is not going to be as big of a deal as you currently imagine.

You might despise every one of those first 10 minutes in the gym, or be completely bored studying, but the 10-10-10 rule will remind you that the results will be worth it in the end. 

This doesn't mean that making the right decision will be easy, but reminding yourself that what you do today will have consequences - good or bad - for yourself 10 minutes, 10 months and 10 years from now will give you more willpower to decide correctly.

Going through the scenarios in your head will be fine, but it will work even better to put your ideas on paper. It will allow you to see much more clearly just how much better life will be for you in the long-term if you summon the willpower to make the right decision.

CONCLUSION

Making the right decision can be tough. We envision all of the nightmare scenarios that could possibly go wrong. When we are thinking about whether or not to "put ourselves out there" we get a distorted view of the risks and potential benefits.

But, when we look at the situation from 10 minutes, 10 months and 10 years from now, we see how insignificant the downsides are and how potentially big the upsides are! So the next time you're afraid to be vulnerable, go through the 10-10-10 exercise. You may just find it easier to summon the willpower you need!