Success in business and life has a starting point. Make a decision and take action. We’ve all heard the phrase “Make up your mind”. My father used to say “indecision was a sign of weakness”. When I was young I never knew what he was talking about. I was too busy deciding whether I wanted a big mac, fillet of fish, or a quarter pounder with cheese. Many times his impatience would choose for me, and I would get stuck with the cheapest item on the menu.
Later in life, I realized that when I oscillated between one decision and the next, it became increasingly difficult to get anything done. So indecision may not be a sign of weakness, but it does slow down progress.
Sometimes ya gotta just make up your mind.
On the opposite side, our priorities can make decisions simple. For example – as parents we’ve all heard the “sorry, I forgot to do my homework” excuse, but somehow our children managed to remember to turn on the computer, download music, play a game, and chat with a friend. As adults, we do the same thing. We make excuses and say we don’t have the time or money to fix something broken or clean the house, but somehow find time and money to see a movie, hang out with friends and buy overpriced coffee.
It’s amazing how easy we make excuses for not doing things we find unpleasant, but somehow find time to do the things we enjoy most.
For a successful business, one must make good decisions
The ability to make wise decisions has everything to do with our success. It’s only when we begin to grasp the true nature of our humanity (like the propensity to make lame excuses), that we begin to overcome areas that drag us down and strengthen the areas that lift us up. Working in commercial real estate allowed me the opportunity to meet and work with many successful people. In my opinion, they all had this unique ability to assimilate information, use it to make a decision, and then start making plans to reach that decision. This did not seem to be some supernatural ability endowed at birth but was something successful people learn to develop over time.
How to Make a Decision and Stick to It
* Find a place conducive to helping you make clear and rational decisions, and go there regularly.
* Brainstorm and write down all the pros and cons of a decision to help prioritize various decisions.
* Limit your options to those most applicable to your overall goal. Sometimes having too many options makes it difficult to make a decision at all.
* Try to evaluate plausible decisions before they are made, by looking at the risks, consequences, and feasibility of various decisions.
* Do not listen to the nay-sayers and pessimists. Surround yourself with people who will give you honest advice, but still support you even if they don’t agree. When good opportunities arise, don’t let others befuddle your thinking. Go for it!
* Clear your decision with the right people (spouses, children, bosses, parents etc) before you start.
* Don’t ever let the fear of failure stop you, or inhibit you, from reaching your goals. Sometimes life will give us “reality checks”, which often seem like the precursor to failure. However, quite often negative or harmful events are really just a way to help us get back on track, or move us in another direction.
* Your success is not determined by expectations of others, because personal success is always determined by the individual.
* Don’t overlook the small things in life, and remember it’s never too late to make up your mind.
- Take the “How good is your decision-making test at ”http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_79.htm
Success is the process of reaching your goals… Not the goal itself.
For any successful business, leaders must set goals and follow through
Many people have various objectives like – losing weight. Then they set a goal to lose 10 Kilos, but can’t seem to lose that last 5. If this goes on long enough, some will eventually give up, and go back to old eating and exercise habits. This is an easy trap to fall into because we are so focused on a specific number that we can’t focus on the accomplishment of the weight we did lose. Like 5 Kilos!
It’s understandable to feel like you failed when you don’t reach a specific goal. However, success can be determined by even partial fulfillment of our dreams, desires, and goals. We might not finish our plan completely, but partial goals can be a success just as well. Especially if they help compel us to success in other areas.
Our successful business lies when the outcome of a decision is in line with the main purpose of our desires. This does not mean we have to be satisfied with only partially reached goals, but it’s important to remember that success is a process and not a destination. All our successes, whether they be small or large, partial or complete, all begin when we make up our minds to do something, and then take action to fulfill it.
Here’s a link to some tools from our sister site – Guide to increasing problem solving skills, and making better decisions: