I wish I hadn’t pressed ‘send’

‘I wish I hadn’t sent that’: Gmail uses STAR

The whole point of learning STAR, the antidote to The Almond Effect®, is to stop ourselves acting impulsively, in the wrong way, at the wrong time, for the wrong reason, when something stirs us up or catches us off-guard.

In the Gmail Labs, there is a fabulous tool that is doing just that.

It gives us a second chance to Stop and Think before we send an email we will regret.

Turn on the ‘Undo Send’ feature in Gmail by going to Settings then Labs. Then when you hit ‘send’, Gmail will pause for 5 seconds before actually sending the email.

If you realize in that time (and we usually know in an instant when we have done something and wish we hadn’t), you press simply ‘Undo’ and Gmail redirects the email to your draft box. Email not sent – no harm done!

It’s STAR in action

If you’re looking for an example of (assisted!) STAR in action, this is it: Stop, Think, Act, Rewire.

Gmail delays (STOPS) the sending for you, giving you time to THINK about what you’ve just done and what your real intention and the consequences might be.

It gives you 5 seconds to ACT and press ‘undo’ if necessary. And if you press ‘undo’ it pops it back into your Drafts box so you can REWIRE i.e. review and rewrite the email until it’s ready for you to send.

Now all we want is have an ‘undo send’ mechanism for our mouths, facial expressions and our body language!

The change organ

Our brains can and do change – it’s called neuroplasticity. However, it takes courage to deeply examine what makes us tick and triggers our immediate non-thinking behaviours.

Changing embedded patterns of behaviour can be hard without determination and practice.

We can change our brains by changing our minds. But you have to stay on track. Understanding The Almond Effect® and mastering STAR helps you do that.

Change Leader Programs

Anne Riches offers 1/2 day, 1 to 2 days, and longitudinal programs that develop managers into better change leaders who deliver growth and productivity for their business. 

However acquiring the mindset and capability to deliver through successful leadership competencies doesn’t happen as a quick fix.

The more you put in, the more you get out.

The focus is on leading the people side of change as an effective, inspirational and motivational leader – it’s not simply or only about processes and models. It’s about holding a mirror up and discovering whether you see a genuine change leader. 

if you do, we’ll build on it. if you don’t, we work to make you the best leader you can be.

For more information, contact Anne at anne@anneriches.com

And see her website for testimonials from businesses that have benefited from Anne’s interventions: www.anneriches.com