In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill talks about his study of successful people in which he recognized that they have a habit of making decisions quickly. I have been practicing this in recent weeks as I am preparing to move. I wrote a blog a while back about people who tend to try to maximize every decision and people who are content to select the first option that satisfies their minimum criteria. In my move, I have noticed my tendency toward maximizing everything – and what it costs me, as well as the freedom that comes from making a choice quickly when my minimum criteria are met.
For example, I drove around for hours and spent hours online looking for my new place, analyzing the amenities and costs, mapping mileage to different places I like to go. Guess what? I ended up taking the very first place I saw. And I ended up exhausted.
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, the rational mind its faithful servant. We have created a society which honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
– Albert Einstein
Intuitively I knew that the first place met my criteria. Yet in our society it seems irrational to choose in that way. So I researched. I can’t get that time back.
On the flip side, as I’ve been making my subsequent decisions (which internet provider, cable or no cable, paint colors, what to buy or not to buy) I’ve practiced quick decisions. I felt my energy build with every decision I made on-the-spot rather than waiting, thinking, or researching.
I own a 2-family home and I am now renting out the space I’ve been living in for 7 years, and moving into a new space which feels more energetically aligned with who I am today (these changes will surely be a later blog post). There have been many decisions to make in how to structure this move, and had I analyzed every one, I’d not be here typing this today, I’d still be deciding. Quick, intuitive decisions are life-giving. Agonizing, analyzed decisions are life-taking.
My coach says “Indecision is self abuse.” It is.
I have countless examples of times when I’ve stepped into a big decision because my gut said I needed to, even when it didn’t make sense, and I have never regretted it. Other times, I have seen myself analyze and rationalize my way out of something, or delay something important, just because it wasn’t comfortable to make the decision quickly. They say we don’t regret the things we do, but rather the things we didn’t do. Regret is generally useless, but if I were to entertain it I’d say I regret the time I spent this month trying to make perfect decisions. I absolutely do not regret the major decisions I’ve been making in my life and my business that come from my intuition.
What is your intuitive mind telling you to say “yes” to that your rational mind continues to analyze? What would it be like to practice the success habit of making decisions quickly, today?
Please post your immediate decision!