Mastery of the skill to make a decision is crucial to your progress in fitness and in life. This article will discuss the the many benefits of making a decision, be it toward fitness or toward life, and the benefits of making it quickly.

Why Decide?

“On the plains of hesitation lie the blackened bones of countless millions who at the dawn of victory lay down to rest, and in resting died.”
— Adlai E. Stevenson, Ambassador to the United Nations

Uncertainty creates more than doubt — it creates hesitation. Hesitation is a killer when it comes to fitness. Hesitation is equally dangerous when it comes to living life.

It all comes down to certainty.

In M-Power I discuss the power of what I call The Law of Certainty. Certainty has created every success story in history. Even if these role models for success had less than the optimal plan, they possessed more than optimal certainty — confidence that the plan would work.

I have often stated that adopting a plan and instilling certainty, which is something anyone can learn to do, is far more crucial than having the perfect life plan, the ideal diet, or the optimal workout routine.

I’ve seen people succeed on plans that, on a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate as a 4 or a 5, only because they had absolute confidence in the plan. Confidence drives one to the gym consistently and to the refrigerator with certainty rather than doubt. This is key to success.

Conversely, I’ve seen people on ideal plans fail to achieve their goals. This is more than just a mental thing, as certain studies suggest. This is the mind affecting every aspect of the body. Simply believing that something will work often makes it work. Being unsure can make it fail just as quickly.

The Cause of Indecision

“Over-analysis often confuses the issue and in the end brings us no closer to insight.”
— Leo Buscaglia, author and psychologist

Without a doubt, analysis paralysis, or over-analyzing to the point of being unable to take any action from fear of negative consequences, is the primary cause of indecision.

Defenders of analysis use “rationality” and “responsible decision-making” as a part of their rebuttal to this statement. Often, this is true — they are being ration and responsible. But are they getting what they want? What are the results from all of their rational and responsible thought? Are they happy? Fulfilled? Inspired?

At the point where success and happiness takes a back seat to being rational, rationality become the very definition of irrational behavior.

This is especially true when it comes to considerin the most important aspects of your life. The quote I started this section with from Leo Buscaglia comes from one of my favorite books, Living, Loving and Learning. The full quote is worth repeating here, if not for any other reason than to emphasize the power of decision in every area of our life, including love:

“What we need to know about loving is no great mystery. We all know what constitutes loving behavior; we need but act upon it, not continually question it. Over-analysis often confuses the issue and in the end brings us no closer to insight. We sometimes become too busy classifying, separating, and examining, to remember that love is easy. It’s we who make it complicated.”

Indeed, some of us do make things complicated. Some tend to dwell on both sides of an issue — be it love, health, wealth, or what-have-you — until neither side rings with a tone of clarity.

To these poor souls, the melody of life can eventually become mere noise. This noise is often and accurately referred to as cognitive dissonance.

Two Sides To Every Issue?

Every issue on earth has two sides. If you doubt this, Google “geocentric” and see what you find. You’ll discover astronomers, granted in the vast minority, who believe and “can prove” that the sun revolves around the earth. I’m serious.

You can also find fringe elements of society that believe the earth is flat, that Elvis is alive and well, and, as I recently heard reported as fact, “It is impossible to alter your body to any significant degree without drugs or surgery.”

All of us in the bodybuilding world would slightly disagree with that statement. Not too ironically, the individual making this claim was obese. Give me twenty-four weeks with him and I bet his “evidence” would evolve.

That’s what happens to the beliefs we discard. They evolve into new truths for us to follow. Yet if we discard the concept of personal truth based solely upon past experiences with personal failure or pain, we do our self and our destiny a great disservice.

There are always two sides to any equation, story, situation or belief —and there always will be. The ones who are happy and succeed are the ones who can pick a side and run with it. The ones who are mired in misery are the ones who have their crotches firmly planted on the fence of indecision. This fence is constructed from the soft wood of self-doubt, and hinged upon what is cleverly disguised as rational thought.

The point isn’t that every issue has two sides. The point is to choose which side you will write your personal destiny upon.

There will always be pros and cons. Always defenders and rebuttals of defenders. But, again, there is only one side that really matters — the side you choose to embrace. As long as you embrace it with ethical and intellectual responsibility, you will walk in certainty and in the confidence that you can alter your beliefs in the future if need-be.

If you spend too much time looking at both sides, failing to listen to that small inner voice called your intuition for too long and too often, you will become accustomed to longer-than-necessary periods of decision. These periods will eventually appear to be sound, rational and even responsible.

In reality, those who choose this course are living irresponsibly and illogically in the “Big Picture” sense of the term. In essence, they are put off living in favor of thinking about it.

Personally, I’d rather fail miserably and try than do nothing and die.

What Should You Do?

“We are a puny and fickle folk. Avarice, hesitation, and following are our diseases.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Understanding The Law of Certainty is a good first step. I cover this in Fit Over 40 and in my M-Power Audio Series.

Just realize that at some point you must go against your grain. You must choose to decide and move through the decision. It does not matter if it is comfortable, or if it “feels right” — just decide and proceed, understanding that you can always change your course in the future.

Changing course is different than indecision. The decision has been made to move forward in this case. The momentum is set in a specific direction. Tweaking that direction is okay. Refusing to go in any direction out of indecision is never okay.

My Personal Battles With Certainty

“Great shooters never hesitate. And that is what helps them become great shooters.”
— Pat Riley, head coach of the Miami Heat

Despite my passion for this topic, I am not immune to indecision. I’ve been very fortunate in my life, however, that these periods of indecision are brief and somewhat isolated to one or two things.

Let me state this: every great thing I have ever done has been the result of a near-immediate decision based on a gut-level intuition and a focus on a Big Picture Life.

Every great thing. There are no exceptions.

I made the decision to become a musician in less than two hours. I listened to that small, still voice after hearing the sounds of a Fender Stratocaster playing “Brown Sugar” by the Stones, up-close and personal in the bedroom of my new friend Johnny Wooten, at the age of 16. Johnny “Jam” and I went on to form two bands, and I went on to make a living from music for a decade. It is one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever given myself.

At the time of this epiphany, my father didn’t see it my way.

“Dad, I want to spend all the money I’ve saved for college on a bass guitar and an amp…and I’m going to do it tomorrow.”

“Jon, are you crazy? You have no idea if you’ll stick with it! You’ve never even picked up a bass guitar! How can you make such a snap decision? Why don’t you think about it for…”

“No, dad — no thinking. I know.”

I did know. I just didn’t have all the facts. I didn’t need them. I knew without knowing.

This same “knowing without actually knowing” led me to quit a secure job and start my design firm. That led to thirteen years of success, fun, and creative expression. It also led me into the world of fitness — another decision made in less than an hour while out on a walk.

I say these things to set up this caveat: I am not always perfect. My areas of indecision have been in the arena of what nutrition protocol to follow. And, ironically, I’m facing this period of indecision right now.

However, I’m far from back-sliding. In fact, I’m progressing. Why? Because I made the decision to move forward no matter what, even if I have to wing my nutrition protocols until I become secure with a direction.

Obviously “winging” does not mean I am eating pizza and burgers every day. My nutrition is still top-flight, but I do not currently know whether I am going to go low-carb or medium-carb for my six-week peaking plan.

Seems relatively minor, doesn’t it? Perhaps it is. I have friends dealing with far more serious aspects of analysis paralysis. Still, this is impacting the time and speed of my peak, my peace of mind toward it, and most of all my degree of certainty.

Let me tell you this flat-out — once I’m certain, I’m unstoppable. The same holds true for you. So, my goal this week, despite a very busy travel schedule, is to obtain certainty in this area. I will post my “certain decision” next week on my website for the world to see.

Even if I’m “wrong”…who cares? I at least have the peace of certainty, and I’ll no-doubt squeeze all I can out of the direction I head into before altering course. That beats the hell out of sitting around and waiting for something to happen or some 3x5 to drop from heaven with written instructions from God. Life doesn’t work that way.

Of that, I am certain.

Read more about certainty and my own journey toward the peace that comes with it in my book Fit Over 40. In the meantime, decide to decide. Decide it makes a difference. Decide you want to move, even if the direction isn’t ideal.

Just don’t buy into the myth that “some things are not so simple.” Yes. Yes they are. All things come down to decision. Make a decision, and your very physiology changes to accompany and empower that decision. Your body, your beliefs, your thoughts — all things bend to the will and power of decision.

Adopt that power, and do it today. Life is too short to be paralyzed by analysis. Live instead in freedom and motion toward life.

[jB]