How To Confidently Make Better Decisions Quicker

Analysis paralysis. Decision fatigue. Whatever you want to call it (because if you're reading this then I know you fancy options), it can be debilitating.

I once heard a wise man say:

So my rule is that if you have someone or something that gets 70 percent approval, you just do it. 'Cause here's what happens. The fact that other options go away immediately brings your choice to 80. Because the pain of deciding is over. And when you get to 80 percent, you work. You apply your knowledge, and that gets you to 85 percent! And the thing itself, especially if it's a human being, will always reveal itself—100 percent of the time!—to be more than you thought. And that will get you to 90 percent. After that, you're stuck at 90, but who the fuck do you think you are, a god? You got to 90 percent? It's incredible!

- A Wise Man

I'll be honest, I wrote about this years ago and I haven't really been living to it - all the way stuck in the myth of perfectionism. I don’t remember when the uncertainty kicked in. I don’t remember being an indecisive child. Quite the opposite actually. In fact, my parents often love to entertain their friends with tales of my erm...brazenness...as children. Now, I can't order a meal without changing my mind.

It’s not just the what to eat or drink that breeds uncertainty, it affects the big decisions too like who to (or not to) date, where to live, where to work, whether or not to have children, choosing happiness, and just generally making the 'right' choices.

This probably stems from our default view that failure is some sort of bad dead end when in reality, failure is and should be regarded as a mere data point on the way to success. Takes the wind right out of its sails when you reframe it that way doesn't it?

So there you have it folks. Say yes to the 70% of you that is actually in touch with your gut. Life is tough enough without any of us trying in vain to reach God-levels. You are not a God, you are a person.

Do you trust your gut? Are you sure?