I’ve drawn a conclusion that in order to be successful at decision making, you need to haul in its partner in crime, a character trait that is usually associated with cleaning up our act in making choices, and that D word happens to be ‘discipline’. Hope I haven’t made your skin crawl, but instead made you sit up a little straighter.

Not giving into temptation, but sticking to your task, choice, or focus.

Even as I write this I feel myself being seduced into emails, text messages and phone calls, and resisting them all with my might. It’s tricky…

I understand that decisiveness also requires discipline. Being able to do both, stick to your word, and not be lured into the temptation to change your mind. I also find that it’s really not just the Gen Y’s that deserve all the flack about instant gratification, many of us walk around with distractions and better offers to fool us into straying off path.

I feel this is a HUGE contributing factor to some people’s inability to make choices with confidence; when there is so much to do, sneak away our attention, compare ourselves and our work to, or ultimately feel like we’ve missed out on.

Experiment a little…

Start to see discipline as a companion to making better decisions.

Being able to resist, delay, or say no. Be a little more black and white, a straight ‘yes’ or ‘no’, versus being in the grey, muddled, over committed or confused.

Try it for one or two tasks today.