As part of the process of facilitating strategic choices, I often encounter situations where individuals or groups must make tough decisions.
Over time, I have learned to differentiate between a decision that is hard and one that is difficult.
A hard decision is one where no clear, superior choice exists – forcing you to choose between equally balanced options and often requiring hindsight to determine the outcome.
These are often significant life or business choices, like career changes or people-related decisions, which involve alternatives and choices that are not overwhelmingly better than the others.
On the other hand, difficult decisions are those that are clearly correct to make but will attract strong reactions or emotional choices that have a high potential of undesirable consequences to oneself or to others.
These are decisions such as closing a business or taking disciplinary action against a good team member.
Difficult choices often involve a right choice that is hard to execute or implement.
In summary, a hard decision has no clear right choice and, therefore, can lead to decision paralysis where it may seem tempting to make no decision at all, and a difficult decision is when you know the right choice, but the consequences seem too heavy to bear, leading to anxiety, fear and indecision.
It is very important to be honest with yourself on whether the decision you are facing is hard or difficult.
If your decision is hard, make an effort to differentiate the options by judging them against your core values and long-term goals.
However, if your decision is difficult, then that is easier to deal with. Just do it and focus on managing the consequences.
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