How To Be More Decisive So You Don’t Miss Out
Do you have trouble making decisions?
Indecision isn’t just struggling to pick what to order on a menu or whether to go with the leather or fabric sofa.
It can also look something like this… You have wanted to redo your website for months now. After dragging your feet to choose a web designer, you interview two recommended candidates. Both have excellent references and portfolios.
Their main difference is their approaches for designing your new website. You see benefits to both of their strategies and you can’t decide which to choose. On top of that, you know either choice comes with a considerable price tag.
Rather than possibly make the wrong decision, you make no decision at all, continuing to use the outdated website you’re frankly embarrassed to show prospective clients.
Have you ever put off a decision like this?
If the answer is “Yes” then indecision might be holding you back in your business.
Indecision makes you miss out on opportunity.
When you hesitate to make decisions in business, you can miss out on countless opportunities. If you hold back from offering an innovative new service, you miss out on clients who would sign up for it in an instant. If you hesitate to accept an offer to speak at an upcoming conference, you miss out on the ability to get your name out there and reach prospective new clients.
Business expert Jim Rohn refers to indecision as “the thief of opportunity and enterprise.” He says that it steals your chances for a better future if you let it.
Unfortunately, I’ve met many entrepreneurs who have missed out on success in business because of indecision.
Indecision makes you miss out on time.
Think of all the time you spend overthinking all the reasons why you should or shouldn’t take action. Instead, imagine if you made a decision first and invested your time strategizing about what practical steps you can take to make that decision a success.
Indecision makes you miss out on confidence.
The more you second guess your choices, the more you wonder whether you’re really cut out for entrepreneurship. After all, entrepreneurs are leaders that constantly have to make decisions that affect the growth of their business. When your confidence wavers, your ability to network, market, and sell effectively suffers.
Over the years, I’ve met many brilliant, talented, and driven entrepreneurs who struggle to achieve success because they were stuck in indecision.
You deserve better than to allow indecisive tendencies to kill your opportunities, time, or confidence. It takes decisive action to build a sustainable, profitable Legacy Business.
Here are 3 practical action steps you can take today to become a more decisive entrepreneur:
- Recognize the outcome of indecision.
When you find yourself faced with a difficult decision, think about what impact NOT making a decision or delaying the decision will have on your business. For instance, if you aren’t sure what the best strategy to use in your prospecting calls is, so you put off making calls at all. Consider the impact. You won’t have the chance to convert prospective clients and your competitors might even swoop in.
Spend a few minutes contemplating the impact of your indecision. What will happen if you do nothing? If this outcome isn’t acceptable to you, you’ll have a natural incentive to reach a conclusion and move forward deliberately.
- Set a deadline.
One of the reasons entrepreneurs struggle with indecision is because they often don’t have established deadlines. An account executive at an advertising firm may not know which slogan to go with or which voice actor to choose for a commercial, but when they’re up against the clock, they have to push themselves to be decisive.
One way to move past your indecision is to set yourself hard deadlines. I recommend you share your deadlines with an accountability partner or coach, so someone will hold your feet to the fire.
If you meet your deadline and you still haven’t decided, flip a coin. It may sound overly simplistic, but if you can’t make a choice then it’s likely your intuition telling you that it’s either not that important or neither option is superior to the other.
- Trust your first instinct.
Once you’ve used your rational mind to weigh the pros and cons of each decision, trust your intuition. Your first gut instinct will often guide you in the right direction.
Trusting your gut is actually quite different than flipping a coin. According to Melody Wilding, a licensed therapist and professor of human behavior at Hunter College, your “gut feeling” is the “collection of all your subconscious experiences…It’s this unconscious-conscious learned experience center that you can draw on from your years of being alive…It holds insights that aren’t immediately available to your conscious mind right now, but they’re all things that you’ve learned and felt.”
Have the confidence to listen to that wise inner voice.
Even the wrong choice is better than no choice at all.
When you make a decision and it doesn’t work out, you can reflect on what went wrong, make appropriate changes and move in a more productive direction. But when you’re crippled by indecision, your business becomes stagnant. It doesn’t have an opportunity to grow.
“Indecision is the enemy of progress. Not saying yes to one possibility is saying no to them all.” –Michael Haggstrom
Many of the clients I have worked with at Celeste Giordano Coaching have struggled with indecision. I give them proven strategies to simplify the decision making process, which not only serve them well with their present decision but with future decisions as well. That gives the entrepreneurs and sales professionals I work with the ability to make their own decisions with greater clarity and confidence.
Find the courage within yourself to take decisive action. Contact me TODAY to “Double Plus” your income THIS year (yes, there’s still time)!
Blueprint Magazine – Volume 4
“Celebrating Generations”
In this latest issue of The Blueprint, several articles focus on what to do as spring draws to a close and summer begins so that you can smartly meet your professional and personal goals. Articles are written by authors spanning all generations, filled with knowledge to inspire and motivate you.
Here is a sampling of what you will discover in this edition…
- The Best Gift Of All by Pauline Duncan-Thrasher
- Are We There Yet? by Joan Williams
- The Women of Global Change Youth Initiative by Cheyenne Hunt
- The Rise Of The New Economy by Cynthia Mabry
- In Life and In Work, Be Anything But Common by Celeste Giordano
- The Importance Of Reviewing Quarterly by Brigitta Hoeferle
- The Technology Buying Cycle: How Often Should Your Business Update Its Technology? by Jason Rush
- When It’s A Mistake To Hire A Writer & When It’s The Right Move by Katherine Copeland
- Ultimate Mission Impact: There Is Only One Solution by Sheree Allison
- and much more!
My hope is that The Blueprint inspires you in all aspects of your life – to grow your business, to prosper in your personal life and to serve the community and world around you.
Click here to subscribe for your free copy.
Celeste Giordano’s mission is to help business owners develop the skills, knowledge and attitude necessary to “DoublePlusTM” their income and become effective and inspirational leaders in their fields. Whether it’s taking your successful business to the next level or starting a new venture, she will teach you the exact skills and strategies you need to enroll more quality prospects, build a rock-solid team, and break through obstacles to achieve real profit and lasting success. Celeste is a professional business growth specialist, a master sales strategist, and dynamic speaker with 40 years experience in direct sales and managing high-performing teams.
To learn more about Celeste, click here.
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