Nobody likes wasting time, money or opportunities by making a bad business decision. We can certainly identify what “bad” looks and feels like, however we should be identifying what the “win” looks like too. Too often we focus on the bad, which puts us in victim mode that perpetuates a scarcity mindset which leads us directly into becoming frozen or stuck.

When we are forced with a decision, we should just make the choice and not fret about what may come next. Not all decisions are bad and conversely, not all are good. Sometimes we even make good choices that end up bad or bad choices that end up good. Failure presents itself in two primary ways, through our mistakes, and in our fears. 

Make the Mistake…Fail

Learning from our mistakes can be tough yet the most successful entrepreneurs will also tell you to FAIL fast and FAIL regularly! What? Coming to understand why anyone would want to fail and be happy about failing is quite liberating. The truth is, we learn so much from our failures that we literally need failure in order to learn those lessons required to become more successful.

Sounds crazy but the truth is…. It is the truth. The word FAIL can be described as Full Accountability In Learning. When we take full accountability for where we are at, the circumstance, the situation, the event, whatever it is, we can either achieve the results desired, or we can learn from it.

When the mistake ends in learning, we should celebrate it (I think of the Disney movie, Meet The Robinson’s here – side note, it belongs on the top 10 list of movies for entrepreneurs to see). Learning requires us to make changes. Change is good. Change is necessary. Change is growth.

“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end.” – Denis Waitley

The Only Thing We Fear…Fear Itself

The second aspect of failure comes in the face of fear towards failure. When you find yourself frustrated from your last perceived failure that you are nervous about making your next decision too quickly, that is fear. When you find yourself caught up in the “paralysis by analysis” cycle and either have a difficult time making decisions or procrastinating on a decision, that is fear.

The crazy part…as hard as we try to weigh all our options to make the best possible decision, it is NOT possible to fathom all the options! Let that sit for a moment because it is almost counter cultural to think that way, yet when we do, our minds open up into a world full of possibilities. Faith returns, hope endures, procrastination crumbles.

Faith and Decision Making

The reason is that until we take that next step of faith, we have no idea of the resources, relationships, and opportunities that can and will surface from that single decision. You see, it’s literally not possible to have ALL of the information. Certainly, we need to make the best decision with the information we have at the time yet, still have faith to know and understand there will be information we do not have readily available, and it is okay.

There is a part of taking action that requires faith and persistence in continuing to move forward and pivot as we go. This is not the same as “just winging it.” Faith is fully allowing it to happen as it is designed to. Some high-level businesspeople refer to this as having no regrets on the actions taken.

Once you decide on a course of action, take steps which support that decision based on all the tools in your personal toolbox… at the time. As you continue to add new tools to your toolbox you will make stronger decisions. This is where persistence becomes crucial.

“If you learn from defeat, you haven’t really lost.” – Zig Ziglar

The Choice is Yours

It’s clear that understanding these aspects of decision making and the way you approach the process of making decisions along with how you proceed during and after a failed decision sets the tone for learning how to make better decisions that results in stronger successes. Be persistence in acting in faith and do not be afraid to fail. Having faith over fear will be key in mastering the failures made from your decisions.