Do you feel an enormous amount of pressure to make the right decision? If so, you are not alone.
I coach highly motivated people who want to improve, excel and achieve. And, no matter the focus of their goals – professional or personal – these individuals usually have one thing in common. They feel an enormous amount of pressure to make the right decision.
Here’s a well-kept secret. Looking for the ‘right’ decision – more often than not – sneaks up behind you and bites you in the butt. If you want to increase your odds of being successful at whatever you are doing, stop looking for the ‘right’ decision and start looking for the best decision.
Here’s why trying to make the ‘right’ decision isn’t smart. When you focus on finding the ‘right’ decision, by definition, that means all other alternatives are wrong. You are looking for that one magical solution. The unconscious fear of making the wrong decision artificially elevates the stakes, slows you down and restricts your perspective. You simply don’t think as creatively as you can nor do you see all of the possibilities that exist. When you stop looking for the ‘right’ decision, you’ve got a lot more viable options. It’s no longer a ‘win or lose’ situation. With more options to choose from, you increase your chances of being successful.
Consider this. Decisions are like coffee and wine. They fall along a continuum from dreadful to delightful. With a swirl of the pot and a cautious sniff at at the spout, you can usually toss out the dreadful before you choke on a bitter mouthful. That leaves you with infinite decision choices ranging from mediocre to ho-hum to good to surprisingly tasty and, finally, to “OMG, this is heavenly!”
Next time you need to make an important decision rank your possible options along the continuum from bad to poor to OK to good to better and to best. Then, ask yourself, “At this particular point in time, which of these choices will best serve me?”
Making the best decision starts by forgetting about making the ‘right’ decision.