Doubt As A Data Point: Avoiding Fear-Based Decision-Making

In October of 2019, my wife Liz and I left our home in New Jersey for a trip to Boulder, Colorado. Just two days later, she and I made the abrupt decision to move there for good. Just four weeks after that, we bought a place and began our cross-country move. Yes, it was very impulsive, but this desired outcome made us give in to our whim. My wife Liz is my rock and I knew we had the strength to land on our feet. That strength is how we avoid negative, fear-based decision-making that might prevent us from reaching our objectives. Our view is that fear can also be a positive — a fuel that helps us reach new goals together.

Almost all important and productive change involves an element of fear. Nothing is a sure thing. But that’s what makes life exciting. That’s why I think it’s smart to embrace not only change, but the fear that comes with it. The truth is, it can be useful and I’ll explain how a little later.

Understanding the Flip Side of Fear

Fear has two sides to it. We need fear to survive as humans — it keeps us from taking insane chances that could literally kill us. The flip side, though, is that fear can also keep us from making significant progress. Fear often sends the wrong message — that we’re not good enough or smart enough to reach a desired outcome. It can feel as if there’s someone whispering a stream of negativity in your ear, saying destructive things like:

Are you crazy? You’ll never be able to do that!

You’re fine where you are. Why are you taking chances?

Remember all those stupid things you’ve done in the past? Well, here comes another one!

You’ve heard the voice yourself, I’m sure. And it’s the primary voice that leadership at the businesses that are in critical condition is hearing.

When I’m coaching someone who can’t shake that voice, I ask them when in the recent past did they start hearing it? When did it become overpowering? And what prompted it? What were they doing at the time? Were they thinking about changing jobs, changing careers, or taking on a new project? How did they deal with the negativity? Did they push past it? Or did they do a U-turn and abandon attempting whatever was scaring them? Whatever action they took, did it change the way they think about themselves? If they moved forward, did they learn that they could do something that they couldn’t before? If they backed off, did they regret losing their nerve?

The Dangers of Fear-Based Decision-Making

You can ask yourself those questions if you want. And if you’re able to answer them honestly, you don’t need a coach or a consultant. Mastering your fear is important — if you can’t, you may not be successful in business or your life. You won’t choose to run after challenging outcomes — you’ll shrink from them and take permanent residence in your comfort zone.

These ideas definitely apply to business. What prevents management from setting the right desired outcomes? You got it — our old friend fear. When tragedy strikes, leadership often mimics the turtle and pulls back into their shells. They retract, instead of expanding. And they resort to fear-based decision-making. They cut things — employees, expenses, new initiatives that could bring growth and prosperity…and guess what happens? They handcuff themselves and end up failing faster — all because they’re terrified of making a proactive move. This is what’s called a cut and shrink death spiral.

Your belief in yourself and your capabilities must be stronger than your fear. You can never totally conquer fear, nor should you. But what a successful entrepreneur can do, however, is use doubts to help their decision-making process. To me, doubt is nothing but a data point. It’s telling you all the things that might go wrong, could go wrong, should go wrong — and when you think about it, that kind of information is incredibly helpful. You can take those negative possibilities into account and use them in your planning to hopefully avoid any serious pitfalls. In other words, doubts can help you reach your desired outcomes if you use them proactively.

Personally, here’s your bottom line: find out who you are, what you’re good at, and what your desired outcomes are. Then make the changes necessary to align everything. Don’t be afraid to use doubt as a data point. Ultimately, you have two choices: either make yourself uncomfortable by challenging yourself or wait for someone else to make you uncomfortable, because they undoubtedly will if you stand still.

Discomfort motivates change. And change is the only way we continue to improve.