Tony Robbins tells a story about a General he knows. The general was a great example in decisiveness. Tony asked him one time how he acquired this skill, and so the General told him a story.
When the General was a young man he worked for another General. For a period of five years the military was going back and forth between two decisions on how to most effectively train new troops. Both sides had loads of data pointing to the fact that one way was better than the other. There were meetings every week for those five years leading to discussions and arguments, and more than just a little frustration.
Finally, the General sat down with representatives from both sides, listened to what they had to say, and upon hearing both sides, for only forty minutes, he chose! “Do that one!”
In the military, when a General has spoken, orders are taken and carried out. There is no more discussion. Confused and curious, this young man later went to the General and asked him: “Sir, with all of the data collected, and having only heard about 40 minutes of it from either side, how could you know if you were making the right decision?”
The General quickly replied: “I didn’t! I simply made a decision. If I made the correct decision we will quickly know it because of the progress we will soon experience. If I made the incorrect decision we will quickly know it because the program will fail, and then we can quickly fix it! Either way, it’s better than sitting on the fence for the next 5 years!”
Sometimes we get caught up in “over-thinking”. We don’t need to exhaust all avenues of research. Most of us know immediately because of intuition, experience, knowledge, or even advice from those smarter or more experienced than us, what the outcome of any given decision will be.
Sometimes we think that sitting on the fence is just more attractive and less painful than taking action. We are ALWAYS, either growing or shrinking, expanding or contracting, progressing or regressing.
Actions speak louder than words. It’s time to take action.
Be decisive.
Take action.
RESULTS DON’T LIE, AND THEY GIVE IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK, INFORMATION, AND DATA, OFFERING US UP THE OPPORTUNITY TO RE-CALIBRATE, PIVOT, ADAPT, ADJUST, AND TRY SOMETHING ELSE.
ALWAYS BE UPGRADING
Today I will reflect within, recognize anything I have been, “sitting on the fence” about, and decide what action to take. I already know if taking action will be bad or good for me. Today I will take action, in order to receive data and feedback, and improve the results.
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Remember: Mindset matters. Character counts. That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives. WE CREATE our personal realities.