 In my new article I would like to introduce you to a thought experiment that helps me to regain my ability to act and make a decision before making important decisions.
We humans make 20,000 decisions every day. Most of them happen unconsciously. If we were to consciously weigh up every decision in terms of alternatives and consequences, our brains would be completely overloaded by this constant neuronal fire. With this huge number of decisions to make every day, we humans should be masters at making decisions – you would think. But the opposite is the case. If we look around in companies, we often find that hardly anyone is prepared to make an independent decision and take responsibility for it. Why is that? The search for the perfect decision paralyzes Since childhood, we have been warned by parents, teachers and other people around us not to make the wrong decision. This starts with choosing which friends we surround ourselves with, which education we pursue, which partners we choose, etc. We are conditioned to categorize decisions as "good" and "bad," "right" and "wrong." Too often, bad decisions are held up to us afterwards and presented to us as mistakes. It is not surprising that many people hesitate for a long time to make important decisions for fear that they might be the wrong ones. Why do decisions keep us awake at night? You've probably experienced it yourself a few times. What happens when you're struggling with an important decision? That's right: your mind starts racing, you struggle with the problem for days and nights, mentally playing through all the possible scenarios of the consequences of your decision. If you're like most people, it's not the rosy success scenarios that keep you awake at night. We worry about the negative consequences a wrong decision could have on our lives, our jobs, our status or our income. It is hardly surprising that many people become paralyzed by this negative spiral of thoughts and are no longer able to make any decisions. What if there is no right decision? In order to free ourselves from this burden of decision-making, we seek advice from friends, partners and colleagues, hire experts to support us or rationalize our decision-making process using countless methods in order to ultimately find the one right decision. I also struggle with decisions time and time again. What helped me to become able to act again and to break out of the cycle of thoughts is a thought experiment. I ask myself: What if there is no right decision? It's not about making the perfect decision. What's more important is that we make a decision and implement it with all our determination. No decision is perfect. There will always be things that work and things that don't. That's okay. As long as you keep your eyes open, reflect and recognize these things, you can make agile adjustments and adjust your course on the fly. Conclusion If we delay important decisions out of concern that they might be the wrong ones, we deny ourselves the opportunities and possibilities that this decision opens up for us. Because only when we make decisions do we set things in motion. Remember this the next time you make an important decision. A small framework that I keep in mind before making decisions is: DECIDE : Make your decision boldly. EXECUTE : Resolutely implement your decision. ADJUST : Reflect, change what isn’t working and adjust your course along the way. https://justgrow.eu/blog/ If you're interested in reading more of Olaf articles please visit the website link above. (Please note that Olaf's site is in German but Google translate does an excellent job of instantly translating it to English.) How can a great business, growth & executive team coach help you grow a thriving company? To find out what areas a qualified executive team coach can help you improve in to grow more easily, quickly and profitability, AND enjoy the ride, try our complimentary Agile Growth Checklist. This self-service questionnaire takes 5 to 10 minutes to complete. You'll receive the checklist with your responses immediately. Within 24 hours, you'll receive a compiled report highlighting areas to improve. Find out how your company is doing in each of the 7 areas needed to produce more rapid, profitable and sustainable growth. This report is complementary and involves no obligation. Comments are closed.
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