A lot of times we make decisions without realizing we need more information. For example:
The doctor says, “You need surgery.” You figure, “She’s the professional. Why should I argue?”
Your friend says, “I wouldn’t sell the house now. Rent it out.” In my experience, the more confident people are when they give advice, the less they know.
The scary part of living in today’s world is that we often come up against situations that we couldln’t possibly know about. For instance, if you’ve never been diagnosed with a certain condition, chances are you don’t realize you need to do some resaerch. To take another example, I was an experienced home buyer. I had had one mortgage and one cash sale. But when I went to buy a third home, I didn’t realize I needed to research mortgage options. I didn’t realize that the quality of the lender’s services was as important as the rate structur.
So I jumped in and went to the bank I’d been doing business with for years. My buyer’s agent said, “Banks can be slow,” but she didn’t say nearly enough. She didn’t warn me that bank loans can turn into nightmares. Mine did. I didn’t realize I needed to make a decision and research the information before jumping in.
The same thing happened earlier when I started my first online business. I didn’t research. I just hired a coach.
Criteria for recognizing that you are making a tough decision:
More than a certain dollar amount is involved. Set your own number. If you’re Bill Gates, it might be $100K or even a million.
Any aspect of health that has long-term, irreversible consequences: surgery, chemo, even dental work.
