Making Decisions in Business

Each decision simply leads us further along our path as a business owner.

Perhaps there’s just the decision we make. It’s neither right nor wrong.

The mornings are cooling off and my favorite moment of the day is standing in my warm slippers on the back porch surrounded by the cool air. This morning I stood, wide-eyed, watching 6 baby squirrels crawl out of a knot in the tree. How lucky was I to discover a squirrel home with babies?!

I stood in awe. Watching 6 small bushy tails scurry out of the knot at their own pace. Some tentative, staying close to home and fighting to go back in the hole. Several beginning to venture up and down the tree branch.

They chased after one another. I pretended they were playing a game of tag.

They stretched to reach the leaves just beyond their grasp, squatting into their back legs as if they might jump, but hesitant as if they don’t quite trust their jumping skills yet.

It was a delight to watch these balls of fluff explore. As I curiously watched them race up and down the branch, my attention was drawn to one in particular. She was off by herself exploring the rest of the tree. Diving into other knots in the tree, going higher on the branches than other squirrels, racing down to the ground then back up again.

Her curiosity intrigued me. While the others seemed to stick close together she had made her own adventure. She went her own way, exploring with fervor. It seemed to me that she is the independent lady striking out on her own, following her curiosity.

And you know what I thought as I watched all this unfold?

Wow! This is a moment of a lifetime. And also…I should go get the whistling teapot off the stove.

Here I was, watching nature in complete fascination and I was thinking about what I should be doing to get on with my morning.

I didn’t want to rush this moment and yet I was being critical of myself for spending the time to take it in. What an interesting duality of the subconscious mind.

I think we’ve all heard the saying “we’re our own worst critic” and I can’t help but think how true this is. I can’t tell you the number of conversations I’ve had with the dearest of friends lately about critical internal thoughts.

For me, I often notice that I critique myself for things I’ve looked forward to all day, but then it arrives and I have mentally moved on to what I should do next.

I noticed this yesterday. Now that the weather is cooler I’m really looking forward to my walks. I’ve had a lot of creative bursts coming lately that is best explored in a quiet walk, but even while walking I find myself thinking I should be listening to a podcast that I’ve had on my list. I should be learning. I should be taking in new ideas.

The should I…? and am I…? critiques that float to the surface in big and small ways can really pull a ton of energy from us. Extracting every ounce of fullness from a moment is quite exhausting to be honest and yet, I think this is the pressure we feel.

We worry about every single decision being the right one. And it’s absolutely depleting.

Some decisions seem to carry so much weight with them. In just a few conversations I can pinpoint so many heavy questions regarding decisions: Is this move right for my family? Is this business debt going to cripple me? Should I close this business after putting in so many years of hard work? Is growing my business going to create too much risk for my comfort level?

So many decisions. And the default is to worry that each decision is the right decision.

Perhaps there’s just the decision we make. It’s neither right nor wrong.

Each decision simply leads us further along our path.

A friend asked me recently, how I fully embrace the decisions I make.

I think it’s a daily practice. I find that I’m better at embracing decisions when I’m not thinking too far into the future or ruminating on decisions made in the past.

When I fully embrace the decisions that I make without second guessing them, I’m more grateful for the path that I’m on and I use less mental/emotional energy rethinking my decisions.

From the smallest decisions about my daily moments to the biggest decisions about my life it’s easy for me to fall into the fatigue of making the right decision. And yet, there is only the decision that I make. It’s neither right nor wrong.

What decisions are weighing heaviest on you right now? What would you decide if you didn’t worry about making the right decision?