The Big Decisions

Is there something in your life right now you really want to do but are afraid to go through with?

Listen to Arnie:

Do it now!

The logic is simple.

- Fear is the opposite of indifference.
- Indifference means you don't care.
- Fear = Caring

Caring can make you feel like there is more to lose than to gain; if you try and then fail, you'll have lost the game. Poor you.
A safer choice would be to consider options for a few more days/months/years...
... wait until the timing is better...

The biggest and best decisions of my life have involved something of a 'jumping off a cliff' moment.
A metaphorical 'jumping off a cliff' moment that is.
I substituted the real-life version for skydives and bungee jumps.

These are a few of the decisions which have had the biggest positive influence on my life so far:

- Leaving the UK aged 18 to go to live in Japan for 10 months.
- Heading to Tokyo after graduation with only a small amount of cash and the knowledge that my 'future employer' would be out of business in under a month.
- Ending a bad long-term relationship.
- Signing up for a half-marathon despite being a chain-smoking alcoholic weighing a good 100kg.
- Subsequently signing up for a triathlon, half ironman, and then 2 ironman races after that.
- Resigning from a company which I helped to build, where my position was totally secure, to go cycling around Asia with my wife.
- Establishing a company to try my hand at being an entrepreneur.

Establishing a company is a very recent decision, but it's definitely on this list.
If it succeeds then great, but if it goes down as a failed project then the opportunities to learn outweigh any bruises my ego may be dealt along the way.

Nothing teaches you - or makes you appreciate what you have - more than a few solid kicks in the gonads (again figurative).

Each and every one of these decisions had a great deal of fear attached. And every one of them was the right decision for me to make at the time.

Niiiice

If you find yourself hesitating to make a decision for either of these two reasons, just stop thinking and do it.

1 - Fear of failure.
       - Half marathon
       - Starting your own company
If you stop yourself from doing something just because you're afraid you'll not succeed, you've already failed.
The fear shows you how much you want this to happen. It is prompting you to action.

2 - Insecurity.
       - You want a better relationship but are afraid to be alone.
       - You want to change jobs, but are afraid about stability.

Insecurity is essentially the same as fear of failure. It shouldn't really have its own category, but hey...
Ask yourself this: If your relationship was what you wanted, would you even be thinking about ending it? Same goes for your job. You don't look for something new when you're happy with what you've got.

Disclaimer: be sure of your priorities

You can lean toward inaction, but this is a conscious decision. You are making a decision not to act.

Deciding not to act is sometimes the right decision if you have other priorities to consider. I certainly wouldn't recommend backpacking around the world alone if your child is in primary school and your wife is 8 months pregnant. In this case you are prioritising one part of your life - the decision is conscious, not brought about by fear.

But if you don't have other priorities then don't fool yourself into thinking you're 'delaying' action - waiting for the right timing.

There is no such thing as the right timing... or a happy breakup... or a clean way to resign.

The fact that you care enough about these decisions to be afraid of them should be enough to show you what it is you want out of life.

And if you know what you want, why sit on your hands instead of going out and getting it?