CorChoice - Coaching | Consulting

Why is decision-making so difficult for most of us? At my networking meetings these days, there are more and more professionals in transition. To explain what they are looking for, many of these individuals often say something else that sounds almost as specific as, 'money for time.' If they are an accountant, they do financial & business analysis, month-end close, controller work, internal controls, and taxes - and oh, financial planning, too - and they also sell a fantastic nutritional supplement on the side and can help you earn passive income via an e-commerce venture. If they are in IT, it's 'soup-to-nuts' solutions for a services or manufacturing companies from $500K - $10B. A 'health' professional can do clinical hands-on, case management, or sub-acute in-home care, with sales, in this country or closeby... and myself?, well, I can do all of the above, of course. Because we seem to be a nation of super-heroes in transition.

...Or is it, just possibly, a fear of making decisions that keeps our super-heroism in disguise? After all, if we would be more specific, we would stand out more, or shine, you might say. We would certainly be free to focus on the information most related to that one area, rather than 100 of them. I would propose that a decision is a STEP, not a destination, and the more decisions we make, the further we can get. Here are five reasons it could help us all to make decisions with more efficiency, and less debate. And would you believe it? Each benefit goes along with a letter in the word, Step.

S - S is for Step.

A decision is a step, not a destination. When my client made the decision to leave her full-time, benefits-paid job that had gotten her out of debt in order to go full-time for her business dream, it was a BIG step; but it was just that. She needed to take that step, make that decision, before she could take the following actions that would actually realize her entire dream. Once she made the decision, she had many opportunities to reverse it along the way, for instance, an employer who loves her now and always will take her 'time for money' in whatever capacity possible. But can you imagine the energy she unleashed by taking that step? And how every following decision - to spend 1 hour a day networking, for example, was so much easier, after that? If we remember that a decision is simply a step that precedes others, we will know we can backtrack or find another detour if we don't like the journey that unfolds. Step by small step, we get somewhere. Without taking any, we remain exactly where we are.

T - T is for Time

Oh, the pity of time lost in decisions, unmade! Some fortunes are made or lost in a day. But a day is always lost in exactly a day, and it can never ever be regained. You may already know we get exactly 86,400 seconds each and every day to spend as we choose. When we choose indecision, we choose to avoid risk, which means choosing to avoid profit, in almost every sense of the word. So we must and do decide, continuously. Whether we choose action or inaction, our cumulative decisions determine whether we feel we spent our time in a way that brought us the most value possible.

Many of us avoid decisions because we fear the 'permanency' of a decision. If you would reflect on the decisions in your life, which could be defined as truly 'permanent?' The aspects of our lives that are Most permanent are ones we choose not once, but over and over and over again in our lives, like the troubled wife who regained her energy and motivation by 'choosing,' each day, to be married, that day. Most of us choose unconsciously, but the decisions are nonetheless made, repeatedly, not once. They can and may be changed, in the future. The faster we decide, the faster we truly learn what the decision meant, rather than by thinking and guessing about it.

E - E is for Energy

There is nothing to unleash energy like a decision, truly made. The root of the word decide is 'decidir,' which means, to cut off from. When I read this, I immediately imagined a hot air balloon, tethered to the ground by four posts, lit and ready to go. I imagined that two of the four ropes to the posts had been cut, and the hot air balloon teetered, reaching for the sky from two sides, and tied to the earth by two more. When I was in job transition looking for leadership development, audit and accounting jobs at once, that is exactly how I felt. Once I felt confident in my decision to go for just one of those three, I experienced tremendous increased energy, just like that hot air balloon free to soar upwards. What was fascinating was to see that many aspects from the other two areas came up in the position I chose. The decision was simply a STEP, that brought me the energy to take more.

P - P is for Power

One defining characteristic of great leaders is quick, accurate decision-making. You know the leaders I mean. You like them. You trust them. Why is that? Part of the reason is that you feel they have your best interest at heart; they seem to mean no one, or at least you, any harm. Another reason you trust them is they do what they say they will do. And they say they will do things! They believe in their ability to get things done, they go out on a limb to make - credible - commitments, which are decisions, and they see them through. You cannot make something happen without deciding to do it. And if you believe in your ability to do it, and give a decision your focus and time, you will find a way to get it done. So not only do you unleash energy by making decisions, you increase your personal power by a) believing in yourself, b) making credible promises, and c) following through on them. Each of a), b) and c) requires as the first and most important step, to decide to do them.

S - S is for Success

Ok, the second S is for success. Because we all know that the first S is for... - Good! Seriously - if you 1) take the step of making the decision to 2) believe in yourself, 3) make credible promises, which are decisions, to yourself and others and 4) focus on following through, you will achieve success in the endeavors you CHOOSE.

So this is why to decide: Every quick and accurate decision brings you a step closer to more time, energy, power and success. If you want to discuss how to make these quick and accurate decisions, join me for our September Teleconference, Steps to Your Destination: The ABCs of Decision-Making (see Events). Until then, enjoy taking a walk towards your goal of choice, starting with, of course, a single step.