How To Be (A Bit More) Decisive

Of the many problems we might encounter in efforts to get (remarkable) things done, few present more debilitating effects as what can be called 'Inertia.' Putting one aspect of inertia as it regards getting things done in simple terms, it can be understood as the tendency to do nothing. While it can at points be of tremendous usefulness to do nothing, it can be painful to exist in this state of doing nothing with an undeniable certainty that we ought (and want) to do something—a fine example of inertia at work is feeling zero zeal to get out of bed in the morning at the exact moment you want to. 

Through analytical lens, three features inform the makeup of this aspect of inertia. 

1. Indecision - an inability to choose which activities to pay attention to and which are worthy of neglect. 
2. Disbelief - the uncertainty that an action will lead to the accomplishment of a remarkable end. 
3. Environment - the quality of the internal and external space we occupy. 

This BasicPulse entry will for the purpose of brevity treat one of the three features: Indecision. 

It is well established that the ability to make good decisions is an indispensable factor to building a remarkable life. But having to answer in-the-moment questions about what would make the most sense to do at any given time can pose immense difficulty, which can without our knowing result in a kind of paralysis that feeds off an inability to choose which activities to engage and which activities should be dismissed. This traps us in a state of doing nothing, a state of inertia. 

Part of the problem arises from the enormous amount of information useful to making decisions that we encounter in our day-to-day lives. However the significant part of the problem rests elsewhere.

One of the many afflictions shared by members of the modern world is that which has been dubbed existential anxiety (or angst, for short). At the heart of this kind of anxiety are concerns relating to existence. One common concern is posed simply as this question: How do I go about living my life?

The amount of information that can show up in response to this question is enough to paralyze a man. However David Allen, bestselling author of Getting Things Done, suggests that what induces angst and paralyzes us isn't the enormous amount of information which shows up but 'a dearth of systems for managing the potentially infinite amount of details [that shows up]'. 

Indecision, and the angst that it induces, arrests us when we lack the skill and habits of processing input rapidly into a rigorously defined system that distills what to do and what not to do and part of the work in efforts to get (remarkable) things done is deciding to define a working system that does this. 

So when we at points find ourselves trapped in a state of indecision induced inertia we can find consolation in knowing much of what entails doing something rests not in doing anything but in defining what that something to do is. We can save ourselves from the paralysis that arises from analysis of all the possibilities that reside in the gap of 'anything'. We can untangle ourselves from the grip of inertia. We can move from doing nothing to doing the one thing that can at points count above all else: deciding to define what to do, what to stop doing and what to do instead. 

 Enjoy!

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Post Author: P. W. Uduk 
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Photo Sources: www.extremefocus.com

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