The Decision to Act

All of us, at some point in our experience, have been faced with making decisions we've found agonizing....decisions we know we ought to make, but ones we would much rather take a step back on - many times despite our recognizing that our destinies hinge on these decisions. Whether consciously or unconsciously though,  this unwillingness to engage unwittingly results in a decision not to act, a decision to  do nothing. And though it is a decision that is unlikely to yield the results we desire, it is a decision nonetheless.

 Allow me, at this point, to pull on the wisdom of Theodore Roosevelt to whom the following is attributed: "In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing." And we have often read these poignant words, acknowledging their truth and gravity: " In the end we only regret the chances we didn't take, the relationships we were too afraid to have and the decisions we waited too long to make." Whether we are aware of it or not, in any moment of decision procrastination steals our time and indecision steals our opportunities.


To expect to have all the information or to control all the variables that will impact a decision is to desire a foregone conclusion..... to face no risk, to not experience vulnerabilities, to embrace no exposure. The reality, however, is that the nature of a decision implies uncertainty and it requires a willingness to make mistakes and learn from them. Making the decision to act is often the most difficult aspect of any endeavor. The rest, we are told, is merely tenacity. At any given point in time we can make a decision to act to change your circumstance, or at the very least to learn the lessons inherent in the wrong decisions.


For many of us, a crisis of significant proportion is required to move us to act in our own best interest. We watch the game from the sidelines and are content to be spectators in the arena of our own lives. We allow the fear of failure, disappointment or loss to prevent us from moving in the direction of or passions and purpose. But whether our decision is to do nothing or to act to advance our vision for our lives, let's keep this truism at the forefront of our minds, "we make our decisions and then our decisions turn around and make us." It's in our hands!