An Open Letter To My Friend Who Is On A Crossroad Between 2 Decisions

I had a good friend who is being hugely affected by the COVID-19 situation. He asked me a question the other day, which resonates deeply within me, and I wanted to share it with you all.

“Chris… things are adamant at the moment for me and my business. I have a big decision to make between 2 options. How do I know which way to go?”

Amid the COVID-19 crisis and the possible financial repercussions from it, almost everyone will have a big life decision to make in the next couple of months – whether you like it or not. Often, we are left at the crossroad on deciding between 2 choices. Whether it is business, financial, or life related, do you need to make the most important decision of your life right now?

So how do we know which way to go? Which option do we pick? What should we do?

The problem is when you decide to go one route, you’ll never know what the alternative would have been. The only two possible ways of knowing are either you go through it – or you go to heaven. By making a decision, you ultimately choose the one that feels right to you at the time. Because at the end of the day, you’re not going to figure it out by staring at it, right? Alternatively, maybe God can show you what would have happened. This is because that’s the only other way you’ll ever see it!

From the countless setbacks and challenges that I’ve been through in the past five years of my young business journey. One thing that I’ve learned is that sometimes you just have to pick one decision and never look back. What most people aren’t aware of is that when you are on a crossroad between 2 choices, you most likely have already internalised the outcomes of the two decisions thoroughly.

Sometimes all you need to do is to flip a coin and make a choice. Now I’m not an advocate for ill-informed decisions with no research. But the reason why this is an effective decision tool that I use frequently is that you either like the decision, someone else made for you, or you hate it. To be honest, most of the time, you will probably do what you want anyway – even if it is the wrong one. So be positive and realise there’s only a chance to be had.

What my personal experience from knowing many other business owners tells me is that you should never let other people tell you how you should live your life. It is something that I realised most people could get caught up with, and they don’t seem to understand that it can hugely affect the way they make subsequent decisions. The thing is you don’t want to end up in a domino effect of poor choices.

How many of us have heard something like…

“Oh, you made the wrong call…”

“You should have gone to university instead of that opportunity…”
Or
“You should have stayed in this company instead of moving…”

The problem is sometimes if we get too caught up with other so called “expert’s” opinions, we’ll end up choosing not to believe that you have made the right decision. I guess most people want to adopt a “grass is always green on the other side” mindset when they make an important life decision.

When I’m at the crossroad of doubting the choices that I’ve made, which led me to where I am today. I always play it out like this and say to myself…

“I passed on the opportunity to study medicine twice after graduating from pharmacy school. If I took on the opportunity, I would have risen like a phoenix and have already been a consultant, and possibly an associate professor, and everything went great. But then I had to go to Aussie on an important conference as a keynote speaker a year ago, which means I could have hit by a damn car and died at 35.”

I believe in that! You just don’t know… You think you do. But that’s not how life works.
So, going back to look at two options and think you can practically make a right decision is laughable!

Literally, flip a coin. Just pick the one that feels better at that second, and make it about you. Because usually, what people struggle with is the decision they want to make versus the one that they think they’re supposed to do based on others opinions.

Many people have decision-making phobia. They fear that they’ll make the wrong call. What I’ve learned from running a business is that when you are so passionate about what you are doing and genuinely want to make a difference to the world or other people’s lives, the fear of not making a decision usually outweighs the fear of making the wrong one.

The only way to eliminate fear is by not give a damn about anybody’s opinions! My losses are mine. I’ll deal with them myself.

If you don’t give a toss about what other people think, you can do anything.

Don’t ever dwell on your past wrong decisions – I think this is the wrong strategy. Way too many people dwell on their losses. It’s literally what’s holding them back. You made a wrong call, own it, accept it, make another decision, and move on.

Everyone needs to be careful of regret. It is terrifying stuff.  Yet most people do it; they literally build a life that leads to regret.  Nobody old and about to die talks about what they did, they always talk about what they didn’t do.

Amid a global financial crisis, you either do nothing and let the circumstances set the course for you and your business into uncertainty or start taking a step forward in an unfamiliar and daunting environment with absolute certainty. Remember this; you are in the best spot right now. You are in the best position you’ll ever be. This is the time to take action and be thoughtful and resourceful and start digging yourself out of the crisis.

I’m happy to bounce off ideas with anyone who is struggling with business in this critical time.
Or simply, you just want an extra pair of ears to listen to your concerns.

To your willingness to be the best despite how painful and bitter the situation is,

Chris
A Pharmacist and business owner, who is also experiencing challenges during the COVID-19 outbreak.