When a Fork in the Road is Justification for Inaction
Maybe you create complexity to justify inaction. A fork in the road is a smoke screen when you spend all your time kicking the dirt.
3 fork principles:
#1. Both options lead to the same destination. Choose one road.
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Yogi Berra said he was giving directions to Joe Garagiola.
While traveling to Berra’s house one may choose the left fork or the right fork and both are acceptable decisions because both efficiently lead to his house. (Quote Investigator)
Suppose you aspire to leadership. You wonder should I take a course, or should I hire a coach? Just pick one. (Use the needle-tip method below.)
#2. The needle tip method. Choose one road.
I ask people to make imperfect decisions all the time.
“If you had to decide today, which path would you choose?”
“You don’t have 100% certainty. So, which way does the needle tip?”
- Stop searching for perfect decisions.
- Stop exploring all the pros and cons.
- Stop projecting into the distant future.
- Make short-term commitments. Think in terms of three months, not a lifetime.
#3. Both options are actionable. Choose both roads.
I had a conversation with a leader who presented an either/or scenario. Should I further my education or start writing a blog?
Sometimes an EITHER/OR decision is an AND situation.
Pondering:
The road you didn’t take causes what ifs. But it’s better to make a decision than spend your days kicking the ground at the fork in the road.
Robert Frost wrote:
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Bonus: If you can’t choose between two equally good options, flip a coin.
What advice do you have for FORK IN THE ROAD moments?
The fork in the road which leads to the path less traveled may be scary, as scary as success and responsibility are. The other path, less traveled, will lead to dissatisfaction and disappointment. Don’t be scared to feel scared. Embrace it, it’s not that scary once you start down the path.
Thanks Tim. “Don’t be scared to feel scared.” I love a well turned phrase. Cheers
Love it! Sometimes it is the energy you put into the decision you made rather than which option you chose.
Very true!! That’s something to ponder about today.
Exactly. Put your energy into doing something.
“Give yourself permission to move forward” It seems we often forget the POWER we own in determining the outcomes of our Journies. It is OK to be autonomous.
Thank you for sharing this great post
Thanks Chuck. Love the idea, “Give yourself permission….” We could add, “Give others permission.”
We cannot GIVE something we do not own…
Therefore we need to Master the “Giving Permission to Self” before we can SHARE ~~smil
Hey CJ… Love that. In my experience, the power of an authority figure to give us permission is useful. However, I agree with you. Give yourself permission.
Another factor is we may not see ourselves as we are. We might undervalue a strength for example. The voice of an outside can be powerful to get us to the place where we give ourselves permission.
thanks again
Keep up the great work!
Get comfortable being uncomfortable is another way to put that!
Thanks Dawn. For some reason, I started thinking about getting a partner. Move forward in relationship. Or experience your discomfort while moving forward with someone else.
On my journey, I’ve found that the time taken to weigh the pros & cons, and to count the cost has been well spent. On my road, when faced with a crossroads, one leads me to what I want, the second leads to what my Arts want and/or whát humanity needs. I’ve also found there’s a hidden road many times. This is the harder to hardest of the 3, but when I’m able to see it, I choose it, for that tends to reward one best. There’s another road, too, but that one is the consequence of lack of integrity, ethics, morals & not following the rules & laws, which is ultimately the hardest road to choose, despite its seeming rewards.
While I agree with statement that a fork in the road is not justification for inaction, as over-analysis can lead to inaction & indecisiveness, I do not agree with doing no analysis at all. The book, 7 Steps to Decision-Making, helped me to do the research but not dillydally on making the decisions needed.
Thanks Alice. I’m so glad you joined in. I particularly appreciate the 3rd option idea. Generally, I find the 3rd option while taking action. For some reason, talking and think adds complexity but action seems to simplify.
However, it would be silly to suggest a “no analysis approach.”
Occasionally it works that way for me, but it’s rarely directly related to the choice of roads decision. One sometimes has to look hard for the 3rd option, with one’s soul & spirit, is how I find it. When one is available, it appears in my mind as a path in the surrounding area of the crossroads that hasn’t been seen, much less used for ages. Sometimes the 4th road shows up first as a temptation & distraction. Hence wisdom needed.
Here’s my take. If one always takes the same road as others (say the right road at the fork) you will always be competing with them for the same supposed outcome. But if you want to create a different outcome and one that means success for you choose the left road (the one less traveled). Yes, more difficult, yes more work, yes you might potentially fail. But then again if you are on the “easy” road (the right one at the fork) with all others someone will win and someone will fail on that road. So take that “less traveled” harder road, innovate, create a totally different dynamic and be DIFFERENT than others. I’ve found that this is more applicable these days. The lazy (yes lazy) take the right road, the confident, competent and different than others take that left road. Take the left road and be confident in doing so. I am known as the one who does that most every day and I do it with confidence while creating wholely different dynamics and outcomes that those who might take the right road would never think of. It’s so much fun also to be traveling on the left road waving at those on the right as you pass them by into success.
Similar to your “take both forks” scenario, far too often, we are presented with an either/or option, and we don’t realize that not taking either road is also a possibility – create a new option or blaze a new trail…
This is so true!
“The road you didn’t take causes what ifs. But it’s better to make a decision than spend your days kicking the ground at the fork in the road.”
You will always have “what-ifs” but it’s better to have tried something and wondered about the alternative than to submit to fear and complete inaction. Staying put will become a lifelong habit that leads you nowhere.