Decisions Are Best Guesses
I heard a phrase in a workshop this week that made me pause.
“Decisions are best guesses.”
So many of us hesitate when it comes to decisions. Not because we don’t care, but because we care deeply. We want to get it right. We want to avoid regret. We want certainty.
And somewhere along the way, we start treating decisions as if they are set in stone.
The Myth of the Permanent Decision
One of the reasons I sometimes delay decisions is the feeling that once I choose, that’s it. No going back. No adjustment.
But most decisions are not permanent.
They are made with:
The information available at the time
The capacity we have in that moment
The context we understand then
When those change, the decision can change too.
Expecting yourself to get it perfectly right the first time assumes you have access to future knowledge. You don’t. None of us do.
Imperfect Action vs No Action
There is a cost to indecision.
Waiting feels safe. It avoids the discomfort of choosing. But it also delays feedback. And without feedback, we don’t learn.
An imperfect decision:
Generates information
Reveals consequences
Clarifies what matters
Builds confidence
No decision generates none of that.
There is a healthy tension here. Not every decision should be rushed. Some require careful thought and consultation. But paralysis disguised as prudence is something else entirely.
Sometimes movement is the teacher.
Revisiting Is Not Failing
We often treat changing a decision as evidence that the first one was wrong.
But revisiting is part of responsible decision making.
Leaders adjust strategy. Individuals change direction. Teams refine plans. That isn’t weakness. It’s responsiveness.
If we assume from the outset that a decision can be reviewed, it reduces the emotional weight attached to making it.
It becomes less about “forever” and more about “for now”.
A Question to Sit With
What decision have you been postponing because it feels too final?
And what would change if you treated it as a best guess, rather than a lifelong commitment?
You can decide.
You can learn.
And if needed, you can revise.
That feels far more realistic than waiting for certainty that may never arrive.
