Facing a difficult decision? Expect to have to deal with one in the near future? Putting off a decision for any number of reasons? Let's talk about it.
I'm sure you have heard the phrase – failure to make a decision is to make a decision. Decision – something that somebody chooses or makes up his or her mind about, after considering it and other possible choices. The ability to choose or decide about things in a clear and definite way without too much hesitation or delay. (Just wanted to make sure we are on the same page.)
First of all, making the decision is the easy part – it's the action that must follow the decision that is often the most difficult or challenging for many people. To decide is meaningless unless it is followed with appropriate action.
People make decisions every day; to lose weight, start exercising, to learn a new skill, to clean the house or get to work earlier every day, but these are meaningless when all you do is decide. It's the action that is the most important part of the decision process.
So, having said this, why do people procrastinate when it comes to certain decisions and/or the action that must or should follow? Too many to list, but most fall into the following categories; fear of failure, fear of success, fear of possible consequences, a concern that you won't be able to handle what happens as a result of your decision, the concern for others opinions, past history of a lack of action, the wrong motives, doing it because someone else (spouse, friend, parent, boss) wants you too, laziness, a lack of discipline, a lack of commitment etc.
And, I'm not just talking here about major decisions; who you should date or marry, what career steps you should take, whether to move to a different part of the country, to buy or sell a house, to stay in a negative relationship, where to invest, but also things like; what to wear to a special event, what to say when your views or opinions are challenged, whether to initiate something – anything, what to do this weekend or what to eat or not eat.
Keep in mind that all decisions, followed by action, have consequences. Some can be negative while others could be positive and some are long term (years) while some can be instant.
The question is – do you have a decision strategy or process when it comes to deciding – anything or do you just leave it all up to how you feel that day, the weather, chance or just luck and whatever will be -will be?
What exactly is a decision process or strategy? Without giving you more information that you want, let me just repeat that making decisions is the easy part especially if you have a history of not following through on decisions. So, the real challenge is not the decision, but the will, courage and confidence to take action.
I recall my friend Charlie Jones telling me years ago – "Stop trying to make good decisions. Sometimes good decisions can turn out wrong and bad decisions can turn out right. The key is to make the decision and then make it turn out right with your actions, attitudes and behavior."
A simple decision process is; consider all alternatives and their potential consequences (you can't guarantee any of these), stay in reality and not fantasy, deal in truth and not just personal perception as perceptions are often based on many false premises, decide, develop a plan to implement your decision and make sure it includes possible obstacles, opportunities and the potential for failure, write down the plan, give it a timeline for results or outcomes, keep inspecting your actions and adjust as necessary, if you find that you don't have passion, courage or confidence in the actions then re-visit the decision.
There are many more steps and I have not delved into the details of the previous steps – the thing to keep in mind is that – if you want something to happen – be better, happen sooner, not happen etc. the key is in the actions, but you must have faith in the decision otherwise the actions will be nothing more than imaginings.
"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."
George Bernard Shaw
In His Service, Tim