It's only when I rush into something that I get burned. Alison and I have recently been car shopping, which in and of itself is a time-pressured experience. Vehicles go up for sale and are sold, sometimes in a matter of days. Like a whack-a-mole game, opportunities come and go in an instant. Especially when it's a major, life altering decision, don't rush.

I'm the kind of guy that likes to check off boxes. When I have a project, I want to get it done and move on to the next thing. That's great when it comes to work or tasks around the house. It's the worst possible mentality when it comes to major decisions. It's not immaturity, it's simply that I need to have more patience when entering into these types of big decisions. Rushing them leads to poor outcomes and, if they're financial decisions, bad deals.

If you operate like I do, I have a few thoughts to help you make better decisions. First, set clear parameters. With the car, Alison and I want to pay with cash. That limits the amount we're willing to spend and, since we're feeling every dollar that we do spend, we're better prepared to walk away from a bad deal. Parameters help to quickly filter out bad options. Second, only allow yourself to move forward if it's a straightforward option. If there's lots of bending over backwards to make the decision go through, don't do it. We only get "creative" when we have to make the bad decision work. Like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, you can make it happen, but you’ll lose something in the process. Finally, only make a decision if you and your wife are in agreement. Alison keeps me balanced and can see my blind spots. If we're both in agreement, we can be confident that we're making the right decision. As an added bonus, if something goes wrong, you won't find yourself blaming one another.

If you're wired to work with focus and intensity and make decisions quickly, be careful when making big decisions. There's never a good reason to rush anything major. You can always buy more time. You can’t, however, always reverse the effects of a decision that was poorly made.

Tags: Communication