💡 My Make-Or-Break Decision

Jim Wall | The Adventure Chronicles

March 14, 2023

When the whole world was in lockdown, I used a little tool to make a huge bet on myself, and which paid off in ways I never would have imagined.

What do you do when you feel stuck and uninspired?

You know you need to make a big decision, but it’s impossible to know which choice is the best.

Do you quickly evaluate, decide, and execute?

Or do you seek advice, research, or think about it all day until it gets tiring and you just want to forget about it and move on?

July 2020: COVID-19 gripped the world with fear, tragedy, and uncertainty.

I had just left my job a few months prior to become a full time entrepreneur, but I was feeling stuck in life and in my business. I had no creative drive or excitement, and without those, building a business is pretty hard.

If it were still February, I would have just gone to an entrepreneur meetup, a museum, or taken a weekend trip to inspire new ideas.

To make things tougher, my roommates were not getting along. I needed to move.

It was quite clear: if I didn’t figure out a way to get momentum in my business, it might not survive.

Put your fear on paper

My best moments in lockdown were when I went out running. I’d run along the water and through parks, enjoying the fresh air.

That was the answer, I would find a place to live closer to nature.

Soon I found a small apartment just 1 block from the ocean.

Perfect.

It felt like the right choice, but I was worried about:

Leaving the financial security of splitting living costs
The neighborhood or building being unsafe or having bad neighbors
Feeling even more isolated without roommates in a new area

That’s when I found an exercise called fear setting.

You write down the worst case scenarios, steps you can take to mitigate them, and things you can do to repair damage done if they do happen.

I completed the exercise, packed up my life, and moved to the beach.

Soon I was starting my days doing yoga with the sunrise in the mornings.

My business was growing faster than it ever had before.

And the most unexpected thing happened, I met my future wife.

Easy decisions, tough life - tough decisions, easy life

We always measure the cost of taking an action: time, effort, money, discomfort, potential failure, etc.

But how often do you measure the cost of not taking an action?

How much energy does it cost you every day just thinking about a decision?

What opportunities do we miss in hesitation?

In my case, the cost of inaction was even bigger than I had thought, I might have never had my relationship with Michelle.

Like walking through the dark, you can’t know where you’re going until you just start walking.

I was surprised how much easier my decision to move when I put all my fears and worries down on paper.

Soon it felt more like an equation than some vague, incalculable risk.

As my good friend Peter said, “think hard, but don’t think too long.”

The Bottom Line

Not making a decision is still a decision, so if you don’t decide for life, life will decide for you.

Fear is strengthened by avoidance, and weakened by clarity.

My challenge for you this week is to use this exercise for your own important decision. Link here —> DOWNLOAD

❝

""The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem. Do you understand?"

- Captain Jack Sparrow

Leave your thoughts on Twitter

One decision I made 10 years ago resulted in an annual ski trip with my best friends.
When we're old, we will remember the things we committed to for decades.
What's a commitment you'd like to make and remember forever?
— Jim Wall (@thejimwall)
10:12 PM • Mar 14, 2023

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