Looking for an easier way to make decisions? There's a very simple option for increasing long-term happiness. You can apply it to most any challenging situation. What is it? Minimize regret.

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Read on: blog.WednesdayWin.com​

Read time: 4 minutes

What does it mean to minimize regret? Shape your decisions, actions, relationships, and overall mental models to reduce the chance that you will regret your choices in the future.

Let's explore how to bring this to life:

1. Don't compromise values

The first and biggest challenge in minimizing regret over the long-term is not violating our core values. Everyone can endure great hardships when they are experienced in order to maintain our core integrity and sense of self.

But even great financial or professional success will mean little when wracked by guilt or pain at the ways achievements came at the price of deeply held values.

Build your vision of your future with a clear and inviolable sense of your personal priorities, values, and standards. Living consistently in step with your own personal standards is one of the primary ways we live without regret.

• Financial rewards are worthless if you don't respect yourself
• Frame all actions in concert with your values
• Live consistent with your priorities
• Violating one's principles is direct pathway to regret

2. Take command of your time

Your most valuable resource isn't your money or even your knowledge. It's your time. Time is the ultimate equalizer. No one has more in a day and the years add up quickly.

Discipline starts with managing your time effectively. Apply your greatest potential leverage to your most valuable activity.

Time management is essentially pain management. Choose to do the hard work that your goals require instead of carrying the burden of having missed your opportunity for bigger impact.

• Write down your goals
• Breakdown your milestones
• Identify the tasks
• Then schedule and execute

On previous Wednesday Wins, I dove deep on choosing and setting goals and planning your days to be effective.

3. Trying is better than thinking

No idea will carry much impact without action. The most brilliant concept without execution is just a wish in your head.

Action leads to results which drives understanding which drives improved capabilities. As the famous OODA, or Observe, Orient, Decide, Act decision making framework suggests, Observe, Orient, and Decide are worthless without the all-important ACT step. If you are only keeping busy observing, orienting, and deciding, you aren't adding any value to the world.

The success flywheel needs action to drive insights that enable even more or faster growth. Sure, make plans, but if you don't get out and try your idea, you'll never see results to refine or improve.

• Ideas without action are just wishes
• Too much thinking and studying is just a form of procrastination
• Do the work and learn the lessons
• Every good thing you've experienced required a first try, attempt, or exploration

4. Fear failure less (and believe in the upside more)

When the dying offer their regrets, the lists are filled with actions not taken, courage not found, and opportunities missed out of fear.

Mistakes that come as the result of actions taken are positive learning experiences. Disappointments that result from not trying are at the core of so many regrets.

Just try. Sure, you might fail, but action is the only path to new success. Failure after trying is a cause for respect (especially in the US). Fear of trying is just guaranteed failure without any of the useful learning attached.

• Live boldly
• Action leads to learning
• Inaction is just stagnation
• Embrace respect of yourself by knowing you are giving it your all

Action Summary

Minimize regret to live a fulfilling life. Plan a little, know your priorities, and then take massive action. The pace of learning when doing is orders of magnitude greater the value of just thinking and reflecting.

Embrace your values and take massive action in alignment of your priorities.

• Know your values and honor them
• Use your time wisely
• Take massive action
• Recognize fear when it appears, but don't let it stop you. All success is on the other side of that fear of the unknown.

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To your success,

Christopher

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P.S. Like this one? You'll probably want to check out this earlier Wednesday Win essay on taking massive action to pursue your goals, too.

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