There is No Such Thing As the “Right” Decision
You just make one. And then you make it work
Decisions hurt. When you make one, you remove potential from your life. You sacrifice what could be for what will be. You choose to spend your most valuable resource — time — on that decision.
So why would you ever give up on any decision without a fight?
Your significant other gets a job on the other side of the country, but that interferes with your plans. If the two of you have decided the relationship is a priority, you make it work. You will never see this happen on television shows. Two characters will always break up if their “dream jobs” don’t mix. We are taught the best career choice is always the best choice. It isn’t.
Trust is a difficult decision to make. Fight for it.
Your product makes half the sales you thought it should have. If you’ve decided to pursue entrepreneurship, you don’t surrender to the loss and go beg for a job. You make it work. You reinvest the money. You cut expenses. You read Nick Wolny’s insanely generous advice about non-buyer surveys and send it to your customers. You get feedback. You fix the issues. You sell again.
Owning your job is a difficult decision to make. Fight for it.
You decided to finally pay off your student debt. But that was last week. This week, it’s late. You’re hungry. You’re looking at a can of tuna, knowing that a pizza could arrive in the time it would take you to prepare the cheap meal you had planned. If that tuna would keep you under budget, you make it work. You chop. You mix. You chew. You keep the extra $20.
Financial prudence is a difficult decision to make. Fight for it.
It’s Monday and that blog post isn’t coming together. If you’ve decided to publish every Tuesday, you make it work. You learn more. You find similar posts. You take a three-mile walk and a warm bath. You wait. When the deadline comes, you let it go. That’s it. That’s all you can do. After that, you start writing for next week.
Setting your own deadlines is a hard decision to make. Fight for it.
You said yes to too many projects. What do you do? You make it work. You schedule your time relentlessly. You get up a little earlier than you want to. You tell all your partners upfront what your time looks like. You start saying “no” to other things. You realize that your word is more important than any other work you could do. You keep your promises.
Integrity is a difficult decision to make. Fight for it.
Stop expecting the planets to line up. Stop expecting schedules to match. Stop waiting for a windfall of cash. Stop looking for a sign. Stop assuming you can find a mentor that will make decisions for you. Stop wanting it to be easy. Stop looking for the “right decision.” There isn’t one.
There is only the decision you make. That is the point of the human will.
Make a decision. Commit to what is in front of you. And then make it work.
