“This indecision’s buggin’ me, exactly whom I’m supposed to be, so you got to let me know, should I stay or should I go?” The Clash
When it comes to making decisions, sometimes we can get bogged down in the in-decision. And the bigger the decision, the greater the in-decision can be!
Maybe you’re being confronted with:
- A decision to begin or end a relationship, a business partnership or to switch jobs
- The excruciating decision to give up on your lifelong dream to own your own business because it’s failing or to end your corporate career and start a new business because it is your lifelong dream.
- A simple decision to start or stop a behavior that is not giving you the results that you want, but you keep kicking the can down the road and putting it off?
How do you decide, what is the right call, when to take action, when to start, stop, or end something?
Zone of Indecision
Most folks tend to postpone difficult decisions and wait for the situation to turn around. Sometimes they procrastinate by continuing to gather more and more information in an attempt to be 100% sure that they will not make the wrong decision.
Whatever the reason, many of us end up wasting a lot of valuable time, resources, and windows of opportunity, because we get lost wandering in the zone of indecision.
So how could you be 100% sure that you are making the right decision or taking the right action in each and every situation?
YOU CAN’T!!!!!
However you can increase the probability that you will make better decisions if you are willing to do 2 things:
- Know that making decisions is all about managing risk.
- Be willing to ask yourself ask yourself 3 Questions to identify and reduce the risk
3 Questions To Make Better Decisions:
- What is the best thing that can happen? This simply refers to the positive, the R-O-I, basically, the upside of making my decision. Think beyond just the money or financial piece and also look at the impact on your lifestyle, family, relationships, health, etc.. Be sure to write it down.
- What is the worst thing that can happen? This is the cost, the risk, the downside, or the worst-case scenario that can unfold. Be careful not to be over-dramatic and be sure to not let fear takeover the leading role in your scenario. If fear starts to take over the script you can learn how to move from fear to action by reading this. Don’t forget to write it down, something physically changes in your brain when you transform your thoughts to something you can see, feel, and touch.
- Can I live with the worst thing that can happen? This is just a reality check to keep you on the straight and narrow. If the answer is yes then move ahead. If for any reason the answer is NO, then stop right then and there. It doesn’t matter if the realization is that it is a bad decision or you are not in the right place in your life to move ahead, you have your decision. Now let it go and move on!
Sounds simple? IT IS!
What Will You Discover?
- The upside usually outweighs the downside in most cases.
- You will systematically reduce the fear that could be clouding your judgment or complicating the issue.
- You will make much better business decisions because you are adding a more objective risk-reward model into your decision process.
So should you stay or should you go?
I guess that’s a decision you now know how to make!
