September 17, 2026

The Real Reason You Haven’t Made That Decision Yet

There’s a question I’ve been thinking about lately: What if one of the worst decisions you ever make is the one you never make?

We spend a lot of time trying to avoid getting things wrong. We gather information, ask for opinions, run the numbers and tell ourselves we need a little more time. Sometimes that’s exactly what we should do. But sometimes we already know the answer and what we’re really doing is avoiding what comes with it.

That distinction matters.

One of the frameworks I use when making a decision is to look beyond the upside. The upside is usually obvious. It’s why I’m considering the opportunity in the first place. I also want to understand the downside and ask myself a simple question: Can I live with that consequence if I’m wrong?

That doesn’t mean I know what will happen. None of us do. It means I’ve considered the risk instead of being blinded by the possibility.

Five Key Takeaways

1. Indecision has a cost. Not choosing doesn’t freeze time. Opportunities, relationships, businesses and circumstances continue to change.
2. You don’t need certainty to make a good decision. Manage the risks you can identify, but leave room for the unknown.
3. Know whose voice you’re listening to. Sometimes the hesitation isn’t ours. It comes from worrying about what a parent, partner, peer or somebody else might think.
4. Create systems for recurring decisions. The more unnecessary choices you can remove, the more mental capacity you have for the decisions that actually deserve your attention.
5. A decision creates feedback. You can make a choice, see what happens, adjust and rechoose. Most decisions are not a life sentence.

I recently worked through this with a business owner who needed to replace himself in an operational role. He expected to pay about $150,000 for the person he needed, but discovered the right person might cost $250,000. He was stuck on that number.

I pointed out that he had already accepted the first $150,000. The decision he was actually wrestling with was the additional $100,000. Spread that across a year and then ask what freeing up 40 hours a week could allow him to create in sales, relationships, efficiencies and growth. Suddenly, the decision looked different.

But there was another layer.

Once he hired that person, he lost an excuse. He could no longer say he was too busy working in the business to do the things he knew could grow it. Making the decision meant taking responsibility for what came next.

And I think that’s where some of our hardest decisions live.

Sometimes we aren’t confused. Sometimes we know exactly what we need to do. We just don’t like what the decision will ask of us.

So think about the decision you’ve been avoiding.

Maybe the question isn’t, “What should I do?”

Maybe it’s, “What am I really afraid will happen once I decide?”