Thinking you know isn’t knowing

"Thinking you know isn’t knowing" - Peter Mix

Decision-making is never an easy process - no matter if we’re talking about personal matters or professional ones. Whenever you’re deciding, a series of factors and information are considered. Or, at least, that’s how we should proceed.

Making a decision based on “I think” isn’t only imprudent. It may as well be dangerous in some cases, since choices bring consequences - and some of these consequences might become real nightmares, depending on the situation you’re in. A simple example is the lack of payment of some bills just because many people “think” their money is enough for paying mortgages, fuel and food - except when it comes to the end of the month, it isn’t.

Many invest on a business without actually analyzing the real situation of the market, thinking it’s always good to take risks. Except when there are problems coming along.

I could spend the whole day bringing examples of bad decision-making, all based on “I think”, that end up going really, really bad. But I believe it’s healthier to talk about how it is possible to tackle this, by offering a smart action plan for smart decisions.

It’s quite simple, actually. All you got to do is analyze all the possibilities related to the action you’re considering. You’ll probably see there are alternatives along the way, which might turn out better. Observe the scenery, don’t rush into things.

Plan, establish a budget, stick to it. See what are the possibilities based on your current reality. Only then make a decision! Don’t think you know. Know for a fact.