Verum Insights...

life requires that we make difficult

decisions and this happens under

pressure when there's time constraints

and things are bearing down on us and

that can be overwhelming it causes us to

overthink and overanalyze and that can

cause significant delays and not be able

to make decisions we need to make in

order for us to be successful this

happens in life this happens at home

this happens in work we are required to

make

decisions on the battlefield as a seal

platoon Commander I realize that being

decip Ive and being able to make

decisions under pressure in combat was

crucial to our success but this is

crucial to the success of any person in

any situation we have to learn how to

make decisions Under Pressure I learned

three things in the SEAL Teams that help

me be more decisive and make decisions

amidst all kinds of uncertainty and

pressure and you can take and apply

those three things to help you make

better decisions in life first Embrace

Embrace Uncertainty

uncertainty there's going to be curve

balls thrown at you there are going to

be contingencies that arise that you

hadn't thought about or expected that's

going to happen you have to embrace

uncertainty and realize that this is the

way life is on the battlefield the

picture is never clear you never have

the 100% right solution you don't know

what the enemy is going to do the enemy

gets a vote so you actually have to do

the best you can with the information

that you have second you have to detach

Detach

as a leader in the SEAL Teams I figured

out out really quickly that if I was

looking down the sights of my weapon my

whole world was just this cardboard

paper towel dispenser tube that's all I

could see that was the extent of my

field of vision yet if I came back off

my weapon if I pointed my gun to the sky

if I took a step back off the fire line

all of a sudden I can look around to my

left and right and I can actually see

what's the enemy doing where are my

forces do we need to go forward do we

need to go back do we need to maneuver

left or right we could attack we could

Retreat we could call in air support I

could make decisions just simply by

being able to see when the pressure is

bearing down on you the only way you're

going to be able to make the best

decision for you is to be able to take a

step back pull yourself back from the

details look around and analyze the

situation from the Strategic perspective

you're going to be able to make better

decisions if you can simply detach this

attachment also applies to your emotions

and your ego because it's really easy

for us to make decisions based on

emotion and when we get emot about

things we don't make good decisions the

same thing for your ego if your ego is

driving decisions that can cause all

kinds of problems so you have to be able

to detach from emotions and from ego so

that you can make the best decision for

you and your team third use iterative

Use iterative decisionmaking

decision-making what do I mean by that

break that decision into the smallest

step possible in the direction that

seems best as a combat leader in the

SEAL Teams when the enemy was attacked

in our position instead of making a

giant call to maneuver my team what I

needed to make was a small iterative

step in the direction that seem best get

some guys to The High Ground see what's

actually going on see how many enemy

there are that enabled me to be decisive

by making small rapid decisions in real

time without putting my forces at

tremendous risk so many things like that

in life whatever small step that you can

take in that direction take those small

iterative steps based on the information

that you have this is how we can make

decisions in the incomplete picture and

then we can make adjustments instead of

quitting your job and launching a

business maybe you want to take a small

step in that direction by testing the

market by talking to people by trying to

sell a little bit of product while you

still have your current job before you

quit your job and you don't have the

ability to pay your bills before you

sell your house and move to a different

neighborhood that you don't know much

about well maybe you should go check out

that neighborhood first maybe you can

rent a house in that neighborhood to see

if it works for you and your family

before you hire someone for a gigantic

salary and benefits if you can bring

them on board as an independent

contractor and put them to work on a

project to see if they're a good fit for

your company and you're a good fit for

them any decision you have to make you

want to make the smallest step you can

in the direction that seems best that is

iterative decision-making and that will

enable you to be decisive amidst

pressure and uncertainty if you're

struggling to make decisions if you're

getting emotional about things things if

you're letting your ego get involved or

you simply just don't know what to do

and you're overanalyzing and

overthinking remember these three things

Embrace uncertainty stay detached and

take the smallest iterative step in the

direction that seems best and then make

adjustments that's going to enable you

to be decisive so that you can lead

yourself to Victory