If we don’t make a choice, we’ll never get anywhere
Watching Pokémon Sun with my son
My son and I were watching Pokémon Sun and Moon together, and the main character Ash had a task to complete by the end of the day. To succeed, he needed to retrieve an item from within a specific cave. He came to a fork in the cave, which split into two paths. Presented with two seemingly equal options, he quickly chose and started walking down one of the paths to take.
He was then presented with another fork in the tunnel, giving him another two options. He again quickly decided on a path and continued on. Ash’s companion remarked, “You seem pretty sure about yourself, Ash,” and Ash’s reply was, “If we don’t make a choice, we’ll never get anywhere.”
When you are trapped in a prison of indecision, how are you going to be able to succeed?
Making a decision without confidence
You could say that his first choice had a 50% success rate, and then when he was presented with another fork, his success chance dropped to 33%, but I say that is an oversimplification of the scenario.
In this scenario, Ash can’t know before he makes a decision which paths lead to success, and it’s possible that multiple paths lead to success.
Until Ash takes action on his first decision, he has zero chance of success. This rings true for me in my personal and work life. When you are trapped in a prison of indecision, how are you going to be able to succeed?
Indecision can come at a cost
Indecision can come at a cost, and this is what I want us to explore further.
There are many different paths we can take, and it may not be obvious from the start which paths lead to success. Any decisions we make could have an impact on metrics such as time, cost, and quality.
Sometimes a path can feed into another that leads to success, or the path dead-ends and is short enough that it doesn’t cost much to go back and take an alternative. You could also keep hitting dead ends and take far longer than what you scoped to succeed if you haven’t given up already.
There are many different paths we can take, and it may not be obvious from the start which paths lead to success.
Ash couldn’t know how many paths branched off any of the paths or which decisions and actions would ultimately lead to success. What he did know was that if he didn’t make a decision or take any actions, he wouldn’t be able to succeed. With this firmly in his mind, he was able to make quick decisions and act on them and was willing to accept unforeseen issues.
Ash’s scenario was simple. He had four options at each fork: go left, go right, go back, or stay still, and his requirements and scope were basic.
What I would like you to take away is that you should avoid getting caught in a prison of indecision because you won’t get any closer to success unless you make a decision and act on it.