It seemed like a good idea at the time.....
That old adage of youth “It seemed like a good idea at the time” is a classic excuse for the decision made and action taken, with all the robustness and immortality of youth, and with no thought about unintended consequences.
But as we grow older we know better of course. We think through our decisions before taking action and make the best decision with the lowest risk, ensuring we maintain our sense of who we are in the process.
What a shame we lose that spontaneity and that ‘take action’ attitude. We could be so much more if we didn’t think so much.
The problem we face as we get older and supposedly wiser, is that we start to let all the experiences of our life influence our decision making. Now I’m not talking here about how you touched a hot stove when you were younger and now you decide not to touch a hot stove again. What I am talking about is the times we tried and failed. A job, a relationship, a business venture, a sport. We tried, we failed (in our eyes), and we maybe even felt embarrassed, so we don’t try again. We know that path only leads to pain and suffering.
We need to separate our fear based decision making from our practical based decision making, but unless we become conscious of the way we think in every moment, we will never be able to see the forest for the trees.
Martial Arts provides a great metaphor for making decisions based on knowledge, but by removing fear based thinking. It is called “Mushin”. This term literally means “no mind”.
It doesn’t mean you just charge in without thinking, it means stop overthinking. Learn your skills, understand the way you are, understand the way your opponent is, and then have confidence in your skills, and clear your mind of thought (overthinking).
Our problem is we worry that if we don’t think we will make bad decisions. The real problem is we think too much and make bad decisions. Have some trust in yourself and stop overthinking every situation, and if it all turns pear-shaped I reckon that “It seemed like a good idea at the time” is a much more fun way to live than “I didn’t try because something may have gone wrong”.