I’ve heard it said that there are only two conditions under which most people will make a decision.
The first case is when they are totally convinced that they have all of the available information and have received everybody’s input.
The second case is when the individual has no idea about any of it and basically flips a coin and calls heads or tails.
In reality, only one of them ever actually makes the decision. The other guy just wishes he had a coin to flip.
I have also heard it said that paying the price to develop wisdom becomes the tuition for your intuition.
There is an inordinate amount of training, education, physical development, and incurred mental prowess required to become an intelligence operative.
But, there are two traits that you must already possess before you will even be admitted into the Agency.
One of them is listed in bold on the Agency’s recruitment page:
“As part of the program, trainees are expected to: …Make reasoned decisions under time constraints”
Here’s what I can tell you from my decades as an intelligence operative.
Sometimes, its less about what you know and more about what you do that keeps you alive, protects US national security and advances our interests all around the globe.
One of the best ways to prepare to make life and death decisions for yourself and others is to become very accustomed to making all kinds of decisions.
This is going to sound counterintuitive, but making the wrong decisions can teach you as much about making the right decision as anything else.
What will never help you make good decisions is avoiding making decisions.
It’s easy to learn that most “wrong” decisions are not catastrophic. I am not talking about deciding to stay in your lane on a two-lane highway.
I am talking about deciding which lawn mower to buy, or what route to take to work, or if you should work on your project or take your spouse to the movies.
Each time you make a decision, your subconscious is collecting data on the results, analyzing why you made the choice and storing that calculus for future use.
The more you refine your own decision making skills through graduated experiences, the more valuable you will be to everyone, including to yourself.
Decision making also enhances your intuition.
Your intuition is effectively the preconceived thoughts that your mind develops in your subconscious even before you begin to actively collect information, assess it and decide what to do.
Developing a strong, reliable intuition puts you fractions of a second ahead of everyone else.
And just like in the Olympics, contests are won or lost in milliseconds and millimeters not minutes or feet.
One of the best ways to develop and refine your intuition is to act upon it every time you can – as fast as you can.
That will create a feedback loop to your subconscious and help your brain improve its intuitional skills and accelerate their development and their rise to conscious behavior.
Don’t be afraid of making the wrong decision, be very afraid of not making a decision.
And become best friends with your intuition. You never know when it will save your life.
