Are You Stuck Trying To Make The Right Decision?

Written by Vincent Byrne

December 17, 2019

I heard a quote recently by Theodore Roosevelt which goes as follows:

In any situation, the best thing you can do is the right thing; the next best thing is the wrong thing, but the worst thing you can do is nothing at all

The reason it resonated was in the fact that it reminded me of the logjam that builds up in our minds and our thinking from the obsession with making ‘right’ decisions.

Unfortunately, we are conditioned by society and our schooling to always look for the right answer and we are rewarded if we do and chastised if we get it wrong. It is no wonder we are afraid of making mistakes. This is the reason why creativity is not more to the fore in our daily lives and businesses.

As Brene Brown says ‘creativity comes from people being vulnerable and risking being wrong in order to put forward their idea or solution’. However, the people who are brave enough to risk being ridiculed are few on the ground, no wonder we need initiatives to promote innovation. The fact is that we don’t need to encourage innovation, we just need to encourage people to offer suggestions and solutions and that it is okay to be wrong or look silly.

However, coming back to the quote. It also speaks to the idea that taking no decision is actually the worst decision and taking no action is the absolute worst outcome.

Why? Because nothing moves forward when nothing happens. Progress is all about moving forward, then correcting the direction, then correcting again until you get to your destination, I’m sure you have seen the graphics of an aircraft flight path which illustrates this point really well. 

So, bringing it all back to this moment and indeed, you, is there a decision that you are mulling over but not deciding on because you are trying to come to the right decision? Is it holding up some aspect of your life or business? Is there an action that you know that you need to take but are uncertain if it is the right action? Are the indecision and inaction causing atrophy and a state of being stuck? 

Well, you will never know if you were right until after you decide or take action, you certainly won’t know whilst you mull over it. There really is no further thought or analysis required because intuitively you know what to do.

Take the plunge. Get your life or business moving again. You can deal with the outcome whether it be good or bad. The worst thing you can do is nothing and allow yourself and your business to stagnate.

Take the first small step.

 

Take the plunge. Get your life or business moving again. You can deal with the outcome whether it be good or bad.

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