F I R M LY
P I R C H E D
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Sit on the Fence
Fig. not to take sides in a dispute; not to make a clear choice between two possibilities. (Fig. on the image of someone straddling a fence, representing indecision.) When Jane and Tom argue, it is best to sit on the fence and not make either of them angry. No one knows which of the candidates Joan will vote for. She’s sitting on the fence.
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An Exploration Indecision has plagued me through out the project, I couldn’t decide on a subject or area of interest when given the brief. I then realized that I have have had a long lasting relationship with indecision, always second guessing myself and delaying progress because I have trouble making definite decisions when I realized exploring indecision and our relationship with it would be the perfect topic.
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WA R N INDEC 8
N I N G CISIVE 9
Lingering with a Decision Breeds More Indecision
Researchers have found that time spent deliberating on a decision actually exacerbates the difficulty in making that decision.
What’s more important, a decision with
When deciding about the tough trip, the
life-long consequences, like getting married
subjects spent just as long deliberating
or moving? Or a decision about what to
over the easy to read options as the hard
have for lunch? New research finds that we
to read options. But for the unimportant
might magnify a seemingly trivial decision’s
decision, participants spent significantly
importance—if we find it difficult and we
more time with the hard-to-read option.
spend a lot of time making it.
In fact this group spent even more time than either of the groups faced with the
In the study, volunteers chose between
important decision.
two flight options. One group was told
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the trip was long so it was important they
And this extra time and effort led
chose the best option. The other group
subjects to believe the decision was
was told the trip was easy, so either option
important, despite being told it was an
was fine. To manipulate the decision’s
easy trip and so an easy decision. The
difficulty the researchers presented the
study will be published in the Journal of
two options either in a readable type size
Consumer Research.
or in a hard-to-see tiny size.
So time equals difficulty, which then translates into importance, which leads
to even more time spent deciding. The researchers call this predicament “decision quicksand.” Speaking of which, I think I’ll have the BLT. Or maybe the chicken salad. Then again, the burger looks good… By Christie Nicholson
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“There is no miserable being than whom habitual but 12
more human one in nothing is indecision.� –William James
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Bumpy ride ahead for Italy after indecisive election
Italy faces difficult choices over the next few weeks and a tough reality for the next six months or more. Italy faces difficult choices over the next few Formal negotiations for the new government weeks and a tough reality for the next six will not start until then, but the informal months or more.
bargaining has already begun with the leaders
In two weeks’ time, the new parliament will marking territory and putting out feelers. assemble and will elect its new officers so there is already jostling over who should have Without the Senate majority he needs to 14
the prestige and power of the speakers’ jobs.
govern, Pier Luigi Bersani, the leader of
the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), will Even though he has been making some have to come to a deal with either Silvio overtures towards Mr Bersani, they are more Berlusconi’s centre-right People of Freedom for show than substance. (PdL) movement or Beppe Grillo’s Five-Star Movement (M5S).There seem to be three All the leaders are trying hard at the alternatives for Mr Bersani - one difficult and moment to seem “reasonable” and “open to two almost impossible.
Divisions
compromise” because none of them wants to be seen to be responsible for preventing the formation of a government and the likely fiscal chaos that would follow.
A grand coalition including Mr Bersani, Mr Berlusconi and the outgoing Prime Minister, Mario Monti, would have the numbers and, indeed, was just the combination that governed Italy from November 2011 until now. But the bruising electoral campaign, combined with serious personal and ideological divisions, mean that a repeat performance is highly unlikely. Above all, Mr Bersani’s policies are
Fragile Arrangement
likely to clash with Mr Berlusconi’s agenda. Mr Bersani has promised a serious conflict-of- The second unlikely scenario is a stable interest law and a revision of last year’s toothless minority government. anti-corruption law. He would also maintain much of Mr Monti’s austerity package.
Mr Bersani could probably persuade the centre-right or Mr Grillo to abstain at the
Mr Berlusconi would be unhappy with all of vote of confidence and so allow him to form these measures.
a government, but then he would have to 15
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navigate between the two of them in order to pass each and every measure.
New President
Beppe Grillo speaks to reporters in Genoa (25 February 2013)
Mr Bersani has already started making
Beppe Grillo’s Five-Star Movement is now overtures to Mr Grillo, both on the measures the largest faction in the lower house
they might work on together and on positions.
The only hope that such a fragile arrangement might last is if the external pressures from There has already been a suggestion that the markets, the European Union and the a “Grillino” might become speaker of the European Central Bank are enough to Chamber of Deputies, even that it might dissuade Mr Grillo or Mr Berlusconi from be Marta Grande, at 25 the youngest deputy. bringing the government down.
(This would echo 1994, when a surging populist movement - the Northern League -
The most likely outcome of the next made 31-year-old Irene Pivetti speaker.) month’s negotiations is a government led by Mr Bersani, or possibly a semi- Agreement on some reforms is not impossible and political/semi-technocrat prime minister Mr Grillo has already tempered his rabble-rousing like Giuliano Amato, which would have a mode towards a pragmatic political stance. checklist of policies and an expiry date on it. He says he will represent the Five-Star Whoever
leads
this
hypothetical Movement in the government formation
government would have to draw up a list of negotiations
that
President
Giorgio
tasks, starting with the election of the new Napolitano will manage as soon as the new president of the Republic and moving on parliamentarians have taken their seats. to election reform, parliamentary reform and other measures which Mr Grillo might The first deadline is the election of Mr support, like conflicts of interest, corruption Napolitano’s successor - and a deal on the and cutting the costs of politics.
future president is very much part of the negotiation process.
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Mr Grillo could agree with Mr Bersani to Bersani will be flanked or replaced by Matteo change the electoral law but it would not be Renzi, the young mayor of Florence who wants easy to decide on what sort of reform.
a Blairite renewal of the Democratic Party; Mr Grillo will have had a short spell in or close
The other reforms - conflict of interest, to power; and Mr Monti will have to decide corruption and cutting political costs - are whether to carry on in politics. much more controversial and so more likely to be blocked by a Berlusconi-led opposition. It will be a bumpy ride for all of them and the
Campaign shortcomings
rest of Italy.
This means that the new government is likely to have a very short life. It may not be able to do much more than elect a new president whose first job would be to dissolve parliament and call elections at the earliest in July, but much more likely in the autumn or perhaps spring. The longer the uncertainty goes on, the more likely is some sort of debt crisis which will inevitably colour the next campaign. The result is unlikely to repeat this week’s, as all the leaders will try to make up for their shortcomings in the last campaign. For better or worse, Mr Berlusconi will have most of his pending court cases settled; Mr 19
“The risk of a decision is the terror
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wrong preferable to of indecision� –Maimonides
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Obama’s indecision on Syria strains U.S. credibility Secretary of State John Kerry makes case to Congress for a military strike.
As President Obama tries to push his
Americans are taught from childhood that
reluctant nation into yet another foreign war,
their country’s actions are informed by
the issue of the moment in Washington is
universal values of good and evil and a duty
whether America’s credibility and reputation
to export democracy, if not guided by the
are imperiled, particularly in the Middle East.
Almighty Him/Herself.
Obama’s adversaries say it is, and so does
That’s not to say America doesn’t try to
the president himself. His subalterns,
do the right thing — and even succeeds,
Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary
occasionally. Its leaders do struggle with ugly
of Defense Chuck Hagel, are up on Capitol
truths, which is refreshing, given the feckless
Hill, invoking America’s solemn duty to act
amorality of people like Vladimir Putin.
where others won’t. But to seriously talk about American “The world is watching,” declared Kerry.
credibility, especially in the Middle East, requires both a disassociation from history
It’s a perfect example of American solipsism:
and an utter absence of irony. Both are on
the assumption thatAmerica actually possesses
full display here this week.
the virtuous reputation that the doctrine of American exceptionalism preaches. 26
Most of the current debate centres on President Obama’s warning a year ago
that chemical weapons were his “red line”
Americans might move on after a week or so;
and that the Syrian regime would trigger
the rest of the world doesn’t.
“enormous consequences” if it used them in that country’s civil war.
Take chemical weapons. Obama and Kerry are boiling righteously about their use in
That red line slowly became a running joke, as
Syria, but Washington was considerably less
Western governments concluded Assad gassed
outraged just a few decades ago.
his citizens repeatedly and with impunity in the months that followed. (Putin further stoked
There is ample evidence America supplied
the absurdity, maintaining the rebels, not Assad,
Saddam Hussein with the precursors for the
had committed the atrocities.)
chemical weapons he used in battle against Iran in the 1980s. Even when he turned them on
Red lines set, violated, moved
his own citizens, and the U.S. Senate was finally persuaded to pass economic sanctions, the House of Representatives stopped them dead. The Reagan administration, which propped
In fact, “red lines” are old hat in the Middle
up tyrants throughout the region, opposed
East. They are constantly being set, violated
taking any action.
and moved. The term was popular there before it ever entered the American lexicon.
“I always found it ironic,” Rep. Chris Van Hollen said last week, “that the United States
But in a region where people remember the
went to war on false pretenses that Saddam
betrayal of the Sykes-Picot agreement as
Hussein had chemical weapons and weapons
though it was yesterday (Great Britain and
of mass destruction in 2003, when he did not
France secretly carved up the Middle East
have them, but failed to take any action in
between them after World War One), and
1988 when he actually used them.”
regard the Crusades as though they happened last week, it is the long history of American and
One suspects Iraqis felt that irony, too.
other Western actions that burdens the U.S.
Certainly they remember George H.W. Bush telling them to rise up after the first 27
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Gulf War, before leaving them to Saddam’s words as he went to war against Muammar tender mercies.
Ghaddafi two and a half years ago: “As President, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and
Going back much further, there is still debate over mass graves before taking action.” whether British colonial authorities deployed chemical weapons as part of the wholesale More than 100,000 Syrian corpses later, slaughter its air force carried out to suppress Iraqi Obama has done nothing. uprisings after the First World War. Yes, the White House did announce in June Certainly Winston Churchill was keen. “I am that as a result of earlier chemical weapons strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against attacks by Assad, it was authorizing the CIA uncivilised tribes . . . [to] spread a lively terror,” to arm the Syrian rebels. But as of today, those wrote the great man.
arms remain undelivered.
Empty Declarations
More than two years ago, Obama and his officials began declaring that Assad must go. Now, fearing who might come next, “regime change” in Syria is out, and “containment” is in. Any military strikes will somehow be limited
In any event, does anyone think the average to deterring use of chemical weapons without Syrian distinguishes between the rape and influencing the outcome of the civil war — as torture and bombs and bullets Assad’s though such a thing is possible. executioners have used to dispatch their wives and husbands and children, and the In Egypt, the United States is now backing and sarin gas he’s alleged to have dropped in the financially supporting the military junta that suburbs of Damascus last month?
removed a democratically elected president from office and massacred his supporters. Because
It’s just as likely they recall George W. Bush’s American law forbids the provision of financial empty inaugural declarations in 2005 about aid to any government installed by a coup, Obama protecting the oppressed of the world from has simply chosen not to call it a coup. The list 30
dictators. And of course, Barack Obama’s goes on. And on.
Serial hypocrisy, of course, is not unique to American foreign policy. As the polished ex-diplomat and former State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told me this week, “Consistency is hard. I mean, obviously if we were looking across the world today and asking what leader you would take out because he has killed not hundreds of thousands of his people but millions of his people, it would be the regime in North Korea. But we are not doing that because they have nuclear weapons. You do what you can do.” Crowley clearly thinks America is routinely singled out unfairly in an unfair world. But America singles itself out. And, of course, so did Barack Obama. He was going to be so different. It would appear he’s not. By Neil Macdonald
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“Indecision may not be
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may or my problem” –Jimmy Buffett
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Why Obama’s indecisive, wishy washy Syria strategy is actually working The Obama administration’s awkward journey on Syria policy over the past few weeks has opened it up to a great deal of criticism. Officials have changed tacks a number of times, sent mixed messages about what they’re trying to accomplish and appeared unconvinced by their own policy choices. “The Daily Show” compared Secretary of State John Kerry to Mr. Magoo for committing a gaffe -- sarcastically suggesting that the United States would back down on threatened miliitary action if Syria gave up its chemical weapons – that accidentally became U.S. policy. 34
But here’s the thing: It seems to be working. That could all fall apart, and it’s only “working” with respect to the administration’s modest goal of stopping chemical weapons use rather than actually ending the war. But it’s still worth examining how a strategy that appeared so un-strategic is working out as well as it has. As my colleague Neil Irwin wrote over the weekend, it can be tough to tell whether Obama is playing a super-advanced chess game or just jumping around reactively. But what if those two things aren’t actually as different as they seem?
A leading criticism of Obama’s Syria strategy so far has been his perceived lack of resolve or commitment. The argument goes that Syria and Russia have felt they can defy the United States and Obama’s “red lines” because they doubt the president will follow through. Indecisiveness is weakness, according to this thinking, and it undercuts Obama’s threats and his goal of deterring Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad from using chemical weapons. But Phil Arena, an assistant professor of political science at SUNY Buffalo, suggests
that Obama’s indecisiveness may have had the opposite effect, actually helping the United States to get what it wants. “The most relevant obstacle to negotiation, up until very recently, might well have been a belief on behalf of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and Assad that the U.S. couldn’t be appeased,” Arena wrote on the political science blog Duck of Minerva. In other words, a resolute U.S. policy made Russia and Syria less likely to bend because they believed they would have nothing to gain by doing so. Why 35
make concessions that will yield nothing in return? Arena explains: “They faced a commitment problem stemming from the inability of the U.S. to credibly promise to leave Assad alone if he ceased using chemical weapons.” In the United States, all we saw was Obama’s inability to commit to a single strategy on Syria, whether strikes or diplomacy, which certainly looked like weakness. But maybe Moscow and Damascus saw it differently, reading it as Obama’s inability to fully back down from strikes. That unpredictability may have put Putin and Assad on the back foot. They didn’t know what Obama was going to do -- that doubt is called an “information problem,” because they didn’t have all the information necessary to decide how to act -- and were thus forced to tread a bit more cautiously. More to the point, the wishy-washy U.S. strategy encouraged Russia and Syria to negotiate. It’s easy to imagine 36
both Putin and Assad concluding that because Obama was uncertain, he was also persuadable. And that gave them a big incentive to try to persuade him. This is obviously not a very satisfying theory. We like to believe that the United States can dictate terms to the world and set its agenda unilaterally, that a decisive president will force other countries to fall into line. But, for all America’s military, economic and cultural assets, the hard truth is that we are not the bosses of the international system. A maximalist, inflexible U.S. approach to international disputes can prompt the other countries involved to adopt similarly maximalist, inflexible policies. Yes, the Obama administration was probably so indecisive and vague on its Syria policy because it was uncertain and uncommitted, but the effect may still have been to strengthen the United States’ hand in negotiations. If the goal of U.S. diplomacy and military threats toward Syria is to make Obama look good, then it’s failing. If the goal is
to end Syria’s use of chemical weapons, then it hasn’t succeeded yet, but it’s taking some promising steps in that direction. By Max Fisher
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“Indecision is than wrong
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often worse action.” –Henry Ford
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HOW TO DEAL WITH INDECISION Seven steps to help battle indecision B y T E J VA N P E T T I N G E R
“Ummm… I’m not sure…” We all suffer from indecision at times. If we are not careful, this can become a debilitating problem which feeds on itself. Indecision is often related to lack of self confidence and a tendency to worry about potential problems. To overcome indecision we need to have the faith to follow our intuition, bearing in mind that sometimes it is not what we do, but rather how we do things that is important. Read more at http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/how-to-deal40
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B O T H O P T I O N S C A N W O R K Sometimes we feel that it is of vital importance to choose the right course of action. We feel that one choice must be the ‘right’ one and the other option ‘wrong’. However, this is often a mistake. What is important is how we make use of our choices. Maybe we have a choice between going to two different places; as long as we have the right attitude we can cultivate happiness wherever we go. If we are constantly worrying about our decision, then we will not be able to enjoy life even if we choose the so called ‘right action’.
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I know a friend who regrets a choice he made at age 21 (not getting a certain job). He blames this for unhappiness in is life 15 years later. This is a mistake as the choice is much less important than he thinks; life is what we make of it and is not just about making the ‘right choices’. Don’t fret about making the perfect choice; just retain the best attitude to wherever life might take you.
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G E N E R A T E S E L F CONFIDENCE Indecision often occurs because we lack self confidence and doubt our abilities. Perhaps we would like to take a trial for a sports team, but we fear whether we are good enough. The internal debate becomes about whether we should risk taking the trial. In this case, we should not be worrying about our potential limitations. Instead, we should follow our instinct – we have much less to lose than our mind would admit. If we ignore our misplaced anxieties, it will be easier to follow new choices, without worrying about whether it is worth taking the step.
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D O N ’ T WORRY ABOUT W H AT O T H E R S E X P E C T YO U TO DO Related to the previous point is the concern about what others may think of our decisions. We all face choices where our instinct is to go one way, but then we worry about what people will think of our decision. We can take the advice of other people, but, if we really feel one course of action is the right choice, that is what we should do. Don’t give too much importance to the opinions of society; it is your life, not theirs.
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S P E A W I T H F R I E N
K A D
Sometimes the indecision can go round our mind in circles, creating a downward spiral of indecision. When this occurs it is good to discuss the problem with a trusty friend. We should not ask the friend to choose for us. But, talking about the issue will help to clarify the problem and get a better perspective; once we have done this it will be easier to choose.
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YO U WO N ’ T R E G R E T B E I N G K I N D If you are having difficulties choosing, consider your motives. Sometimes we want to take a selfish approach, but, some inner conscience is holding us back creating indecision. In these circumstances, we will not regret being kind to others, but, if we act only for our self interest then we often will.
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SET PRIORITIES In life there are always things that we won’t have time to do. We can’t do everything nor should we try. What is important is to have a clear idea of our priorities – family, relationships, our inner life, sport or whatever. When we are faced with decisions, we can quickly refer to our priorities. Maybe your boss wants you to work overtime – the extra money would be nice, but, if you are clear about prioritizing your family life then it will be much easier
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to immediately say no. It is not possible to have the best of all worlds. We cannot expect to dedicate everything to our career and also spend quality time with our friends and relatives.
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N O T H I N V E N T U R E N O T H I N G A I N E
G D G D
Sometimes we become indecisive because our mind is worrying over all the potential problems. Rather than looking at the problems consider the opportunities. An indecisive mind will always pick up on drawbacks of decisions. Focus on the potential of the situation and this will help make your more decisive; when an opportunity comes along go for it.
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DECISIONS
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T H AT
CH
HANGED
THE
WORLD
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The Decision to Drop the Bomb
America had the bomb. Now what?
When Harry Truman learned of the success of the Manhattan Project, he knew he was faced with a decision of unprecedented gravity. The capacity to end the war with Japan was in his hands, but it would involve unleashing the most terrible weapon ever known.
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First, an Allied demand for an immediate unconditional surrender was made to the leadership in Japan. Although the demand stated that refusal would result in total destruction, no mention of any new weapons of mass destruction was made. The Japanese military command rejected the request for unconditional surrender, but there were indications that a conditional surrender was possible.
American soldiers and civilians were weary from four years of war, yet the Japanese military was refusing to give up their fight. American forces occupied Okinawa and Iwo Jima and were intensely fire bombing Japanese cities. But Japan had an army of 2 Regardless, on August 6, 1945, million strong stationed in the home a plane called the Enola Gay islands guarding against invasion. dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. Instantly, For Truman, the choice whether or 70,000 Japanese citizens were not to use the atomic bomb was the vaporized. In the months and most difficult decision of his life. years that followed, an additional
100,000 perished from burns and radiation sickness. Two days later, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. On August 9, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, where 80,000 Japanese people perished. On August 14, 1945, the Japanese surrendered. Critics have charged that Truman’s decision was a barbaric act that brought negative long-term consequences to the United States. A new age of nuclear terror led to a dangerous arms race. Some military analysts insist that Japan was on its knees and the bombings were simply unnecessary. The American government was accused of racism on the grounds that such a device would never have been used against white civilians.
Other critics argued that American diplomats had ulterior motives. The Soviet Union had entered the war against Japan, and the atomic bomb could be read as a strong message for the Soviets to tread lightly. In this respect, Hiroshima and Nagasaki may have been the first shots of the Cold War as well as the final shots of World War II. Regardless, the United States remains the only nation in the world to have used a nuclear weapon on another nation. Truman stated that his decision to drop the bomb was purely military. A Normandy-type amphibious landing would have cost an estimated million casualties. Truman believed that the bombs saved Japanese lives as well. Prolonging the war was not an option for the President. Over 3,500 Japanese kamikaze raids had already wrought great destruction and loss of American lives. 61
The President rejected a demonstration of the atomic bomb to the Japanese leadership. He knew there was no guarantee the Japanese would surrender if the test succeeded, and he felt that a failed demonstration would be worse than none at all. Even the scientific community failed to foresee the awful effects of radiation sickness. Truman saw little difference between atomic bombing Hiroshima and fire bombing Dresden or Tokyo. The ethical debate over the
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decision to drop the atomic bomb will never be resolved. The bombs did, however, bring an end to the most destructive war in history. The Manhattan Project that produced it demonstrated the possibility of how a nation’s resources could be mobilized. Pandora’s box was now open. The question that came flying out was, “How will the world use its nuclear capability?” It is a question still being addressed on a daily basis.
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The Iraq War Decision
The end, say many close observers of the president, nothing is so characteristic of the man than his decision to launch a pre-emptive war in Iraq. All the threads of what defines him, all of what is fundamental in his character and personality, seems illuminated in this one decision on which he has staked his presidency..
…If you want to know who George Bush is, look at the Iraq war. It’s his war. It was his decision. He went through a very long process. Considered lots of things. Maybe not all of the things that he should have considered.
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But you ask anyone who’s close to him, in his cabinet, in the White House, a friend. And they just jump and say, “This is a George Bush decision.”
What does this decision tell you about him? Who is he? How does his mind work? The first thing is that he is determined to solve problems. That he identifies. Once he is convinced something is a problem, if he has the power to solve it, he will try to solve it. And we know in my business, journalism, that you live in a world of doubt.
He has no doubt. I asked him. I said, “Do you have any doubt?” And I asked it in the starkest terms. Because Tony Blair had said when he gets hate mail saying, “My son died in your war, and I hate you,” Blair said publicly “You can’t get letters like that and not have doubt.”
Only he had all the information and arguments. And in the end -when you ask him, as I did, “How’s history going to judge this?” he kind of shrugs. “History, we won’t know. We’ll all be dead.”
I read that to President Bush in the Oval Office, thinking he might even say, “Well you know, Blair’s got a point.” He just ignited and just said, “No doubt. I have no doubt.” And I, as a reporter spent a lot of time looking for doubt, looking for that moment when he kneeled on the floor -- to see if it existed -And, you know, asked for guidance or forgiveness or something. And I found no such moment. Do you know anybody else who’s that sure of himself? I really don’t. And Bush’s argument is, it was a considered decision. It was necessary. That’s his job.
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“People say I’m but I don’t know
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indecisive, about that.” –George Bush
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Be A “YES Man” Or A “NO Man”, But Never Be A MAYBE Man
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Insanity and indecision are sure good friends, aren’t they? When you think of all the important decisions you’ve had to make in your life, whether personal or professional, how has that process went for you? Have you just dove into it with eager enthusiasm and said, “Hell yes – count me in!” Perhaps you were the skeptic: “There is no way I’d ever consider that. It’s too risky for me.” You may have even been the one who strived to be practical and evaluate all options thoroughly. Do you recognize it? “I may do this, but maybe not. It just depends on what series of road blocks I can put up for myself.” Everybody
should have their life determined by a yes or no. They are short words and they provide you with the gift of decision
The Yes Man… The “Yes Man” is going to get lucky some of the time. Let’s face it; something is bound to work out for them one way or another. The most admired qualities of the “Yes Man” are that they don’t let their fears dictate their life, they have the ability to easily adapt to their environments, and they are most always very fun to be around. The downside to being a “Yes Man” is that you can be annoying if you
are always trying to be one, you often Still, they are content; I guess because sacrifice yourself for others requests they absolutely know their limitations and your worst yes decisions are often and what they will ever reach. a doozey! Still, you are somebody that wants to live life and that is exactly what life is for – living.
The Maybe Man…
The No Man… The “No Man” can get lucky sometimes, but it is mostly due to fear, not smarts. Let’s face it; some opportunities that come your way are bound to fail. The most admired qualities of the “No Man” are that they are stable, you always know where they are coming from, and you definitely know that they are not going anywhere. The downside to being a “No Man” are that they are often more grumpy because they are not fulfilled, they lose out on opportunities because people quit asking, and they like to complain about why they aren’t as privileged as the “Yes Men” around them.
The “Maybe Man” can best be compared to a hamster running in its little wheel. If you were to observe one you’d see somebody that wants an awful lot, but never goes anywhere. They have no way to keep their eyes on the prize (whatever it may be). There is nothing to admire about a “Maybe Man” because they don’t have the ability to make a decision. That means that they have no confidence in what they can do. Whether you are around a “Maybe Man” in your work or your personal life you’re best off just letting them do their thing while you move on towards success and achieving your goals.
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The Best Man To Be… Indecision makes one big gray cloud in your life. It’s those gray clouds that let nothing come through and stop you from going for it. We all have to be confident in our ability to say yes sometimes and no sometimes. Trust in yourself and your ability to be able to assess a situation. It will work out for you at times and other times it will not. When it doesn’t work out it still gives you a valuable lesson – if you don’t have a thick head. There is only one thing that is for sure in any life – you don’t want to live it wondering “what if ”!
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“By dawn he had gratefully, to the the product of both sides of
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surrendered, old inertia, always seeing every question� – Robert Harris
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Bibliography Christie Nicholson. (2012). Lingering with a Decision Breeds More Indecision. Available: http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode. cfm?id=lingering-with-a-decision-breeds-mo-12-07-08. Last accessed 20th Dec 2013. Neil Macdonald. (2013). Obama’s indecision on Syria strains U.S. credibility. Available: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/obama-s-indecision-on-syria-strains-u-s-credibility-neil-macdonald-1.1386239. Last accessed 20th Dec 2013. Max Fisher. (2013). Why Obama’s indecisive, wishy-washy Syria strategy is actually working. Available: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/ wp/2013/09/17/why-obamas-indecisive-wishy-washy-syria-strategy-is-actually-working/. Last accessed 18th Dec 2013. Alan Skinner. (2008). The Decision to Drop the Bomb. Available: http://www.ushistory.org/us/51g.asp. Last accessed 16th Dec 2013. 80
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