After 6 hours walking along a path through a dense forest, 5 of which have passed without seeing a single soul, you finally accept you’re hopelessly lost.
Your map appears to have been one that Columbus decided was out of date, your compass really didn’t like being left in your bag with your trusty magnet and the pesky birds appear to have eaten all your bread crumbs that would have guided you back from whence you came.
You’re probably feeling a bit panicky, but wait a moment, isn’t that a clearing up ahead? Yes, yes, it is, there’s a clearing that will hopefully allow you at least a sight of the sun to get your bearings if nothing else.
As you approach the first rays of sunlight you have seen in hours you can see the path in front of you splits into two. At this point you suddenly recall the conversation with the wiry, tousled, one-toothed check out clerk that tried to sell you a map at the gas station the previous evening.
In between cackling, chugging on a bottle of some suspicious looking liquid and eyeing you up and down mockingly you remember him mentioning this very clearing, but what exactly was it he said?
It was something about the Fork of Indecision, but you disregarded it as the ramblings of an old loon trying to scare the tourists into buying maps and provisions. Damn, you now wish you’d actually bought the map if not the tins of Spam that looked older than you.
For the next 20 minutes you stand at the clearing trying in vain to recall exactly what it was the old guy had said. You know he said that one route meant certain death, but surely he wasn’t being serious? You certainly laughed it off at the time, but you aren’t laughing now.
What are you going to do?
My guess is you wont stand there until you starve to death. Even if one path really does lead to certain death, standing in one place for the next week does the exact same job, so at least moving in one direction will increase your chances of living to 50%. Not great odds admittedly, but better than the alternative.
Millions of people every day land up at their own personal fork of indecision and many of them stay there staring at the alternatives, sometimes for decades, and never make their mind up.
Actually you can strike that last comment off the record, because they are making a decision. They are making the decision that they will allow other people, circumstances and events to make their important decisions for them.
Rich and Happy people are brilliant decisions makers, but there is a secret to their skill that a lot of people don’t know about, and it’s this:
They are good at it because the practice it and they don’t expect to get it right every time!
If you have a fear of something there are basically two options open to you. The first method is to face up to it knowing that it’s only a fear, a projection in your mind. The second option is to do your utmost to avoid whatever it is for the rest of your life.
Amazingly, most people take the latter option. If they have a fear of flying they don’t fly, if they have a fear of public speaking they don’t volunteer to speak and if they get uncomfortable making decisions, they don’t decide.
Imagine two friends who are complete novices at the game decide to take up golf. Both are male, both 40 years old and both of a similar build. Neither play any other sports and have never considered themselves as sporty types.
One of the guys decides he’s going to hit 500 practice range balls every day before spending an hour on the putting green. The other thinks he’ll look like an idiot hacking the ball all over the range and goes home for a lie down.
A week later both guys meet on the tee for their first round together. Who do you think will win?
Making decisions is a skill just like playing golf and the more you do it the better you get at it and the easier it becomes. Rich and Happy people get this and therefore make decisions quickly and without second guessing themselves or beating themselves up when they get it wrong.
And yes I do mean ‘when’ because everybody screws up and get’s it wrong.
The next time you have a decision to make and you can’t make your mind up, just guess. Seriously, I know that goes against the grain for many people that like to weigh the odds, study the facts and come to well-informed decisions, but who cares?
The point isn’t to get it right every time because that is an impossibility, the point it to just do it and get comfortable with taking back control of your life.
Note: John has finally joined me on Twitter so if you want to follow him you can do so by clicking here.
