The art of quick decisions

Some choices are easy but if you’ve been scratching your head and agonising, I’m glad you dropped by. Let’s cut to the chase, shall we?

A little-known factor that enables people to make swift, satisfying decisions is committing to a fundamental choice. I came across the concept of fundamental choices in Robert Fritz’s insightful book, The Path of Least Resistance. Unlike goals or aspirations, a fundamental choice, once made, is an irrecoverable stance and it affects future behaviours in relation to that choice.

What is a Fundamental Choice?

Fritz writes that a fundamental choice is one in which we commit ourselves to a “basic life orientation or a basic state of being”. The author epitomises this concept by choosing to be the predominant creative force in his life.

And it shows. Fritz is a prolific creator, with works spreading across the realms of music, books, films, business and consulting. Whenever he gets interested in something, a piece of creative output would come out of it.

The Impact of Fundamental Choices

Being inherently simple, fundamental choices enable us to get savvy about other decisions, big and small, that we need to make in life. When defined clearly, we can better organise our lives and activities around this commitment. It gives us a sense of direction, keeps us on track and feeds us with the energy to sustain our efforts.

It’s not like we make a fundamental choice and we’re done. All future decisions get filtered through this one thing. Think of it as layers. Once you make the fundamental choice, get clear about what you want to happen or the result you’d like to achieve. When you know your goal, you then make decisions that help you achieve those goals.

How deciding becomes easier

Let’s say you had a brush with cancer and survived. You’ve recently made the Fundamental Choice to be healthy. Unlike previous promises to eat well and avoid anything that can cause remission, you’re truly committed to live long and well. This fundamental choice orients you.

… next, you make the primary choice

You begin to think about what living long and well would look like. You decide it's about having amazing mobility at 100 years old. You’re still moving about, doing your own groceries. You live independently yet friends and family are nearby. So that’s the goal, objective or what Fritz would call the ‘primary choice’. In my coaching, I like to say that’s ‘the dream’.

.. and finally, you support it with secondary choices

What choices can you make to achieve that dream? These are your secondary, day-to-day, tactical choices. Some of your secondary choices could be practising yoga twice a week, migrating to a community that aligns with your values (true story: a friend found a 'love village' in Europe two decades ago and has lived there since) or never drinking soda ever again in your life.

The secondary choices serve the dream (primary choice). And all roads are led by and lead back to the fundamental choice, bringing us full circle. Make no mistake, though: secondary choices may seem smaller in comparison, but they pack a punch. It's the alignment and coherence of these choices that help you create the result you want.

A choice is still a choice.

A fundamental choice is different from an obligation that we cannot stray from. It’s not a way to manipulate or coerce us to do only certain things. We do not force ourselves to be healthy. We choose to be. This is less about willpower and all about willingness.

To make a fundamental choice is to commit to learning and engaging authentically with life. We learn to do what’s right even when it is not pleasurable or convenient and even when it is painful. We become willing to make sacrifices because those primary and secondary choices are ultimately in line with our fundamental choice.

We won’t make the right supporting choices off the bat but anything that is inconsistent with that choice sticks out. This lack of integrity and alignment will show up and call us to act on that awareness. We’ll want to adjust and organise around the fundamental choice.

New behaviours, new words and new mindsets begin to emerge as we learn to organise our lives around what matters most. We’ll start to see what to set as a priority, what’s essential and basic and what isn’t. We gravitate towards those choices, methods and ways that work well for us.

Too often, people fail to base their choices upon the bigger picture or authentic results. Therefore, their choices become unsustainable, since there’s a greater, usually unknown, underlying drive at work.

Guided by our fundamental choices, we become clear about our true aspirations. Practice small and often. Soon, we'll arrive at that satisfying place where, despite uncertainties or risks, making decisions easily and swiftly becomes second nature.