Decision making without all the worry

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Added: Wed. Feb 11, 2009 1:36am
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Anxiety-Proof your Decisions

 By Dwight Bain, Nationally Certified Counselor & Certified Life Coach

 

Life changes fast and successful people have to learn to make rapid decisions. There are two extremes of how people make decisions, both are equally dangerous.  

 

There is one group who don't think about the decision at all and just impulsively 'jump in' without looking. Then there is a much, much larger group who over-think the decision and fret about it too much so they don't ever dive in at all.  They just keep waiting and waiting for the time to be right, for conditions to change, for more information or any other excuse that they can think of to delay the decision making process even further. 

 

Two kinds of Self-Created Anxiety

 

Both have tremendous decision anxiety that they created- here's why. 

One group are delaying the anxiety about a decision by being impulsive on the front end, which likely creates way more pressure after they jump in because they weren't prepared for what was over the edge.  I call this approach, 'short term gain/long term pain' because it can take a long time to undo the damage caused by ignoring the risks of a major decision. 

 

The other approach creates significant anxiety on the front end, so much so that a decision is often never made, or is made too late.  They work themselves up into an anxious wreck, but never make a move forward to take action. 

 

Hard lessons on the High Dive

 

You are watching someone climb up the ladder to the high dive at your local YMCA.  They race to the end of the diving platform and give a yell as they do a cannonball off the edge-neglecting to see the pool guys cleaning and scrubbing below them until they crash.  Their impulsive need to jump without considering the costs of that decision could cost them everything. 

 

The next day the pool is up to normal levels and you watch another would be diver make the climb up and cautiously peer over the edge, then climb back down to ask the lifeguards for water temperature and wave conditions, then ask others if they think that the platform is too high, or if they think that it's safe to even jump at all.  While they are anxiously waiting for the water levels to rise to a more favorable condition the pool closes and it's time to go home. 

 

Neither diver accomplished anything positive because they lacked the insight to make a bold decision at the right time. Both approaches are ineffective and anxiety prone because they miss the balanced approach of getting facts together, seeking advice, considering the timing and then diving into their pending decision with wisdom. A direct approach gets results without all the anxiety.

 

So the next time you are facing a major decision remember the lessons of the high dive. You can take your chances, or face the tough decision, seek wise counsel, lay out a strategy and then when you jump you’ll do more than make a splash, you’ll accomplish your goal without all the stress.

 

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About the author- Dwight Bain is dedicated to helping people achieve greater results. He is a Nationally Certified Counselor, Certified Life Coach and Certified Family Law Mediator in practice since 1984 with a primary focus on solving crisis events and managing major change. He is a member of the National Speakers Association and partners with media, major corporations and non-profit organizations to make a positive difference in our culture.