Decisions control our destiny. Think of a great decision you’ve made and how it positively impacted your business, personal life, and the lives of others. Deciding to sell my first business is an example of a great decision I made that positively impacted my life and destiny. It opened innumerable windows of opportunities including allowing me to become a top-rated business leadership keynote speaker.
Now what about a bad decision you’ve made — how did that impact you? What was the cost in time, money, happiness, and health? I once put off making a decision to sell my house and move for five long, agonizing years. This delay also impacted my life and destiny in a certain way. (Remember, NOT making a decision is also a very bad decision.)
We all put off making decisions — some big and some small. So pick one right now: What is one decision you’ve been putting off making for a couple days, weeks, or months even? What’s stopping you from deciding and getting into action — perhaps fear, ego, or even complexity (not knowing where to start)?
Maybe the delay is caused by a phrase I recently heard, “The Tyranny of How”. When we start thinking about how we’ll make “such and such” work, we freeze. We worry. We delay making a decision, or worse, never make one.
So try this 60-second action step to help you conquer the tyranny of how and move a stuck business or personal project forward with velocity, creativity, and determination:
Get Into Action Now:
- Declare your commitment. With whatever decision you’re delaying or putting off making, declare the outcome you desire. For example, “I want to increase my salary 40% to $210,000.” Be super specific.
- Give yourself a deadline. Write down when you want to achieve your outcome. For example, “I want to increase my salary 40% to $210,000 by December 31, 2018.” Write it down and post it somewhere you can see it everyday.
- Take one, small, simple RELEVANT action step to move you closer to your commitment. Write down the action step underneath your desired outcome. Then cross it off when it is complete and jot down the next small, simple action step to move closer to your desired outcome. Wash, rinse, repeat.
By focussing on your commitment, and not “the tyranny of how”, you build momentum and motivation. Soon, you’ve taken two, three, four, TEN small relevant action steps towards your desired goal and “the how” is becoming clearer and clearer. Then you’ll be in the envious position of deciding between an abundance of “hows” that all lead to you achieving your desired outcome and creating authentic transformation in your business and life.
If you have any questions on the action steps listed here or have other innovative ways to overcome “the tyranny of how”, please post a comment below or hit me up on Twitter @mpveltri . I’d love to hear from you!
And if you liked the ideas presented here, please take a look at my website where you can find more information on my dynamic business leadership keynote speeches, breakout sessions, and peak performance consulting: https://michaelveltri.com/associations-conferences-keynote-speaker