Can’t Decide?

Today’s post will be short and sweet (for a change.)

It’s about making a decision. It applies to ALL decision-making processes. It popped up in the past week several times, in these scenarios:

Conversation with an APHA PACE member. She could not decide whether to quit her job to start her practice.
Conversation with an APHA Premium +ADL member. His potential new client could not decide whether to sign a contract with him.
Conversation with a potential APHA member: She could not decide whether to join APHA or buy The Health Advocate’s Start and Grow Your Own Practice Handbook.
Visiting friends’ conversation: Should we go out to dinner or eat in tonight?

The answer for all is: no matter how many options you have, you always have one more: do nothing; make no decision at all. Therefore, not making a decision is another decision option. The decision to not choose another option means you’re left with the default, the status-quo.

For the APHA member who can’t decide whether to quit: no decision means she doesn’t move forward and she’ll continue to be frustrated because she’s stuck in a job she hates. In effect, she has made the decision to stay in the job she hates.
For the +ADL (directory listed) member: He needs to tell the potential client that no decision means she won’t get the help she needs.
For the woman who could not decide between membership and the book: no decision means she doesn’t get either one, therefore potentially no help getting started with independent advocacy.
For our visiting friends: No decision means we stay hungry.

Not making a decision at all will usually (always?) put the non-decider into a worse place than she is. No decision usually represents the worse-case scenario, the situation one is trying to change away from (the status quo). Therefore, it’s usually (always?) better to make ANY decision – even if later it requires a change or an adjustment.