The title of this article is inspired by a sentence I read the other day, attributed to drummer Neil Peart, of the Canadian group Rush, who is also a writer.
This may seem obvious, but it brings with it a handful of things to think about.
As an entrepreneur, speaking to entrepreneurs, I say, complementing Peart: when you don’t decide, you automatically decide through inertia, inaction and delay. In other words, those who avoid making decisions are “missing life.”
Making decisions is a common fact of life. We choose all the time, from the color of the shirt we’re going to wear to, for example, things we don’t even perceive as choices, like getting out of bed to go to work or brushing our teeth.
In the professional sphere, you also have to make decisions, sometimes more serious and “important”, because they can influence your career or your business, with even financial impacts.
And this is where the main reflection that I bring in this text comes in: you have to know how to decide and decide well.
Refusing to choose, out of fear, indecision or insecurity, is as harmful – if not more so – than making the wrong choice. Let’s think: when you make a mistake in a decision, at least you learn and cannot go back on this mistake; not to decide, however, is not to leave the place, it does not bring about any kind of change or evolution.
It’s true that making a decision can seem like a complicated process, but there are techniques that can make it simpler.
There are those who think that having fewer options makes it easier for them to choose. It may even seem fair, but having only two options, for example, you fail to assess other more creative and comprehensive possibilities.
With three or four alternatives, you have more parameters to assess the situation and more possibilities of action.
The important thing is to evaluate them in a practical way, separating those that do not look good.
Over time, it becomes easier to recognize patterns in the decisions you need to make, repeating situations, which shortens the time to choose.
Always keep in mind: what can lead to improvements or progress? Following this path is a guarantee of success.
There is nowhere to run: making choices is one of the most common actions of everyday life, yet it can be one of the most unwanted or difficult.
However, there is no reason to make a martyr of it. Everything is easier when you have a very clear goal in mind, whether in your career, in business, or in your personal life.
This guidance will guide decisions in the right direction. What cannot be stopped is choice, because this lack of attitude will inevitably bring harm, or at least stagnation.
And no one should be stuck simply because of their inability to make a decision.
Janguie Diniz
is founder and chairman of the board of the Ser Educacional group
“Typical zombieaholic. General twitter fanatic. Food fanatic. Gamer. Unapologetic analyst.”