Indecisiveness

The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision. (Maimonides)

Indecision doesn’t not always mean indecisiveness.

Sometimes the failure to make a decision means not being ready to make one’s choice among several alternatives. Maybe one needs to get more information or just to let things settle. As the proverb goes:

It’s best to spend the night with any idea (i.e., before proceeding on it.)

Queen Elizabeth Tudor and the Russian Empress Elizabeth II were similar in that they did not like to make decisions immediately upon being faced with the need, and almost always delayed their resolve for a few days or even more. Their respective reigns are considered to have been a golden age in both England and Russia.

Purposeful (conscious) inaction should not be considered to point to indecisiveness. When Hannibal threatened Rome, the opposing commander Quintus Fabius chose the tactic of waiting him out (which consequently got Quintus Fabius the name Cunctator – Slow). Fabius was sharply criticized in Rome, but he won the war, and Hannibal was forced to leave Italy. While his predecessors were always in a hurry to go into battle, they suffered defeat one after another.

But neither is indecisiveness in fact not being prepared to make a choice – although it is disguised as though it is exactly that. It is the inability to make a choice because of the inability to act. The inability to act means that there are some psychological reasons (most often irrational and hidden, located in the subconscious) blocking any relevant actions.

Indecisiveness, once manifested, can turn into a chronic form and become a learned reaction. Once this happens, we develop a fear of taking any bold actions.

At the same time, refusing to act is also a form of action.

When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that is in itself a choice. (William James)

Robert Monroe in his book “Far Journeys” gave an interesting rationale for the preference of action before inaction. Suppose that the probability of a right and wrong choice is equal to and totals 50%. And then that it is generally the case that if the wrong choice is made, there is another 50% chance of correcting it. This means that the probability of making the right choice is usually 75%; or 3 out of 4 against 1 out of 4 for the wrong choice, i.e. the probability of the right choice is 3 times greater than the probability of the wrong one.

This rationale is good, but logic rarely helps in such cases.

Typically it can be observed that what blocks action is the fear of the consequences of taking action – in one form or another. This can be, for example, a fear of making the wrong decision. It sounds strange – we do not make any decision because we are afraid of making the wrong one, but this is often the case. Or it can be a fear of looking stupid in the eyes of others. Or even a fear of not meeting one’s own expectations.

Regardless of the nature of the fear one faces, it is, of course, better to bring it to the surface and explore it, as described in various clever books and articles (as a result of this, the fear usually greatly diminishes, even disappearing completely). But this is not always possible.

Therefore, if this fails (whether due to difficulty, unclear instructions, or just taking a long time), then we should not strive to make the right choice at all.

Don’t make the right decision; make the decision right. (Ellen Langer)

Success is often the result of taking a misstep in the right direction. (Al Bernstein)

It sounds paradoxical, but this is the key to success. The state of consciousness determines that the action is right, and so any action made from the right state of consciousness will be right.

We make choices based on our intuition. Based on our emotions. Based on our goals. And most importantly, based on our principles.

The only guide to man is his conscience; the only shield to his memory is the rectitude and sincerity of his actions. It is very imprudent to walk through life without this shield, because we are so often mocked by the failure of our hopes and the upsetting of our calculations; but with this shield, however the fates may play, we march always in the ranks of honor. (Winston Churchill)

There’s just one disclaimer regarding intuition. Our intuition includes our past experience – in this sense, it is never pure intuition. The same Quintus Fabius, after the expulsion of Hannibal, was opposed to transferring military actions to the territory of Carthage – he believed that the Romans could not manage to defeat such an outstanding military leader on his own land. But Scipio did it.

Past experience is valuable, but sometimes it can be a hindrance. Therefore, it is important not only to follow one’s intuition, but also to keep one’s goals in check. And not to be led by one’s fears and worries.

Then there simply won’t be any right and wrong actions – they will all be right!