How I Make Really BIG Life & Business Decisions ☑
The FEAR of big decisions can put us into a state of inaction — sometimes leading us to stay in places, jobs, or relationships that aren't great. Here's the process I use for making them.
I learned an important lesson about decision-making on a chilly afternoon at a distillery in Spring Grove, Minnesota.
Josh and I were debating selling our home to do something different. Live in a more urban setting. Maybe move abroad. RV for a year? We weren’t sure…but we were ready for something new.
It wasn’t an easy decision, of course. We were in our early 30s, owned a home, had a dog, put down roots in Madison, Wisconsin, and had been living there for nearly six years.
The bartender and his wife had sold their home on St. Paul’s exclusive Summit Avenue and relocated to the rolling hills of rural Minnesota. I forget all their hobbies…but woodworking, gardening, and bartending “for fun” were on the list.
I had filled him in on our current debate when he turned to me and said…
“Determine what the worst-case scenario is. Write it all out. If you could live with that, then the decision should be easy.”
I had never really thought about decision-making from that perspective before. What’s the worst that could happen, and could I live with it?
I don’t even remember the guy’s name, but I’ve used his decision-making method multiple times over the years. When deciding not just to move states, but to move countries. Deciding to pivot my business. Or to delay parenthood (again).
Most of the big decisions we need to make in life are scary. Selling a home is scary. Moving cities, states, or countries is scary. Ending a relationship is scary. Starting a family is scary. Leaving a job is scary.
And it’s that FEAR that can put us into a state of inaction — sometimes leading us to stay in places, jobs, or relationships we hate, dread, or aren’t safe in.
Over the years, I’ve kind of combined this with a method known as Fear-Setting (developed by Tim Ferriss) to create a simple process I can follow when faced with a big, scary decision in life or business. These are the steps, but see below for an interactive worksheet you can fill out on your computer!
Identify what your decision is.
Define what your fears are surrounding this decision.
Describe what success with this decision would look like.
Describe what the worst-case scenario with this decision would look like.
What are some ways you could prevent the worst-case scenario from happening?
If you try and the decision turns out to only be partially successful, would you experience any benefits? What could you learn?
What are the potential costs (financial, emotional, physical, etc) of not even trying?
This exercise does a great job of helping you face your fears, and you’ll likely realize that the potential worst-case scenario isn’t nearly as bad as you thought. It might also help you see that even if things don’t go exactly as planned, you would learn enough from the experience to make the risk worth it. Most importantly, you might realize that the cost of doing nothing is far greater than the risk of trying and failing.
Paid subscribers can click below to grab a free PDF of my “Big Decision Matrix” which walks you through this exercise. You can print it or fill it out on your computer.
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