Runningmonkeys

The payoff moment could be defined as the primary point in time when it all becomes worth it.  Up to that point our efforts have not realised our primary intentions.  After the Payoff Moment,  anything else is a bonus. 

The payoff moment could be the conventional aim of an activity such as crossing a marathon finish line.  It could also be your own interpretation of that conventional aim, such as showing your best friend the photo of you crossing the finish line.  More often, though, it is something deeper than physical and external occurrences.  We assume that we will be satisfied by what we are supposed to be satisfied by (the conventional aim of an activity).  When this conventional aim is realised, we often find that not only are we more satisfied by other aspects of the activity, but that the conventional aim leaves us feeling ripped off or empty.  How is this fair?

 It is important to note that a particular payoff may not be limited to an instant in time.  It may extend for a significant period, but it is first realised…it begins,  at one particular moment and it is this point that we call The Payoff Moment.

How do you get to your own personal Payoff Moment?  This is a simple strategic problem.  First you must decide what your Payoff moment will be like.  Flesh out the details.  What will it feel like, what will it sound like, what will it smell like, where will you be?  If your moment involves others, who will be the key players?  How will you know you have reached the moment?  What will be the defining elements?  Some of these factors will suit your personal Payoff Moment more closely than others, but let your mind consider the importance of a whole range of things before you decide that you know what your own moment is.

Next we have to break down the distance between where we are right now and where we will be at the moment of payoff.  Perhaps this can be measured in distance or speed.  Perhaps it is more in the realm of levels of accomplishment or mastery.  Maybe it is simply a matter of time.  What ever you find, you should have defined the primary obstacle between you and your Payoff Moment.  We can simply think of this as the ”distance” we have to go before we realise our desired payoff. 

This “distance” is then broken down into specific, measurable, achievable and action oriented processes.  These processes must present a linear (not necessarily chronological) path between where you are now and where you will be at your Payoff Moment.  Focus on the point where one process finishes and another starts.  Over lap is good but under-lap is where problems begin.  You are after a seamless path to your Payoff Moment.  Any gaps must be filled in before you are guaranteed of success.

Then all we have left to do is follow this carefully constructed , seamless path from where we are now, right up to our Payoff Moment. 

You have now surpassed most of the human race in your efforts to achieve anything of significance.  If I am not mistaken, three of the problems that men and women have always experienced are:

1. Not knowing what they want
2. Not being able to achieve what they want
3. Not experiencing satisfaction when they achieve what they want   

 This simple process that I have summarized has solved all three of these problems before they become problems.  We now decide in advance what we want to achieve (what our Payoff Moment will be like) before we even begin.  We then plot the exact steps that we have to undertake in order to reliably experience this Payoff Moment.  When the moment arrives we will recognize the signs.  We can then celebrate another major achievement, instead of continuing to plow endlessly into greater and greater depths of discouragement as we look for something that we won’t even recognise if we see it.

My pay off moment

Of course each different area of our lives has at least one Payoff Moment.  My Primary Payoff Moment in running (the one that truly inspires me and the one that I am most focused on) is one that is still a long way down the track.  My moment is the precise time in a marathon when I realise that not only have I run with perfect, smooth, efficient and fast form all of the way so far, but that I am so close to the finish that it is inevitable that I will finish that way.  Notice that the payoff will continue right up until the end of the race and beyond, but the Payoff Moment (the point at which payoff begins) is when I am without a doubt that my form will remain intact right up to the end.  You may also notice that I have not mentioned finish times or places in my Payoff Moment.  This is simply because these are to some degree out of my control.  A hot day could hobble my time, and other competitors will obviously effect my finishing place.  But my form is 100% up to me.  If I do exactly as I have decided in my seamless pathway to my moment, then there is no reason why I should not be confident of achieving that Payoff Moment.  If, by achieving my payoff, I am able to swing a personal best or an excellent finish time, then that is a bonus.  From time to time this is bound to happen if I keep excellent form.  However, my sense of satisfaction does not hang on these external payoffs.  I am primarily motivated by and satisfied by the pursuit of my own personal Payoff Moment.