Life is all about making decisions. As long as us humans will be able to continuously use our brains to compute and rationalize, some form of decision will be made on every move we make from thinking, speaking to physically acting.
What goes into a decision are a variety of factors from gut reaction, pressing timelines, risk calculations, and intuition. Here are the three success rules of decision-making to keep in mind that I have come up with:
- Rule 1: A decision or indecision is an action that can lead to positive or negative outcomes
- Rule 2: Being indecisive doesn’t mean you are not acting toward a positive state of being
- Rule 3:Taking inaction (not acting) doesn’t mean you are not making a decision
It is not making a decision that we are generally concerned about – but the outcome from that decision. We stress about what will happen. We churn our stomachs thinking about the risk of acting a certain way. We build anxiety within ourselves thinking about failure. We play what-if games. We do this all before even making the decision.
They say that not taking risk is the biggest risk of all – I say inaction may lead to anxieties, stress and pain just like any form of physical action. I also say that inaction can lead you to a world of complete happiness. In both cases there is an outcome whether it is positive or negative.
My point is this – it’s not whether we decide or not decide – it’s whether we can tolerate our decision and be satisfied even if we make the choice of indecision. We all make decisions. It doesn’t matter if you are a baby or a grown adult – the power to make a decision resides in all of us.
Also an action is never taken to make others happy. Just look at the act of giving. They say that you receive more when you give. Why is this? Because it is not the act of giving that is important, but outcome from the act – the simple smile we get back, the feeling of being useful, or the words “thank you.” It’s these types of intangible outcomes that make us happy.
We may spin our wheels trying to make a decision to the point that we don’t take any action. In my opinion this is completely fine – if you are happy with the the outcome of your inaction. If you are unhappy – then first stop cribbin’ – and then do something to change your state of unhappiness.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that the easiest and fastest way to change your state of unhappiness is making a decision to pause, stop, and change the way you think.
I find it amusing that people make the decision to move from one place to another to find happiness. I am not saying don’t move to a new location but get ready to adjust and don’t fight the change you have created. Every action you take is about finding satisfaction. Changing states starts with a changing mind-set.
Change can only occur through action but positive or negative outcomes can be derived by both deciding to act or not deciding to act. Don’t let your indecisiveness consume you – if you are happy with the outcome of the action then that is the right decision for you.