Anxiety-Proof Decisions.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)

Byline: Amy Alexander

2 Making choices can be the most nerve-racking part of becoming successful. Often, as responsibilities swell, so do the frequency and importance of decisions.

The most talented leaders are often masters at effectively making up their minds. It's a skill worth knowing -- but it doesn't necessarily come easily.

"There are two extremes of how people make decisions, and both are equally dangerous," said Winter Park, Fla.-based counselor and coach Dwight Bain.

"There is one group who don't think about the decision at all and just impulsively jump in. Then there is a larger group who thinks about the decision too much and (doesn't) ever dive in at all. They just keep waiting and waiting for the time to be right, for conditions to change, for more information or any other excuse that they can think of to delay the decision-making process even further."

Anxiety is usually the primary force that pushes folks to extremes, Bain says. Those who leap before they look are often attempting to delay any worries.

"I call this approach "short term gain, long term pain,' because it can take a long time to undo the damage caused by ignoring the risks of a major decision."