Start2Finish: Fueling Discipline, Focus and the right mindset

Master Tough Decisions: The Art of Choosing Wisely in High-Stakes tough Moments

• Kuda Munemo • Episode 19

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Facing difficult decisions during tough uncertain times can feel overwhelming, but what if embracing them could transform your journey? Tough times require tough  decisions, otherwise situations will make decisions for  us and in most cases, the situational outcome is never usually what we want. So we might as well make the decision and experience the outcome there off.

This episode of Start to Finish promises to equip you with the tools to master the art of decision-making, even when the stakes are high. We tackle the tough choices that come with downsizing expenses, career pivots, and adapting to new financial landscapes. Drawing from my personal experience of struggling with an unsustainable business facade during the COVID pandemic, I share how proactive decision-making became the lifeline that guided me through these turbulent times.

Explore the power of informed choices and the pitfalls of hasty actions without clarity. Our conversation underlines that decisive action, despite its imperfections, often outweighs inaction. Through anecdotes and practical insights, we highlight the importance of foresight and adaptability. By embracing the responsibility of making tough decisions, you can navigate life's storms more effectively and ensure a smoother path forward. Join us for an insightful discussion that will empower you to handle life's challenges with confidence and clarity.

Fueling Discipline , focus and the right mindset!

Speaker 1:

Welcome to another episode of Start to Finish, fueling Discipline, focus and the Right Mindset. Today I just want to share about decision making. A lot of us, including myself, we struggle from making the hard choices, to make the tough calls when it's needed. But one thing you have to know is that whether you make the decision yourself or you don't make the decision, a decision will be made. During that tough period, a situation can make a decision for you and in most cases we don't like the outcome from that particular decision. So you have to be the one who make the decision and you have to be ready to live with the consequences of that tough choice. We all know that our country right now is going through some challenges and, financially speaking, for myself, things have been tough. You know the kind of business that you would expect to make when you're doing everything right. You're doing all the calls, you're doing all that you can. You know tapping into all your relationships, but the outcome is not as great as you would expect. It calls for a tough choice. Or your child is going to an expensive school which you cannot afford anymore. You can't meet that need, that expense. Are you ready to make the tough choice that needs to be made, or you've been laid off, you've been living in this expensive apartment, but to make that choice to move out into a smaller space that you can afford? Are you ready to make those tough choices? Career change, a new opportunity has arisen, has come your way. Are you in that position to make the right decision, to move forward? And all these areas of our lives requires for us to make those tough calls when it need be, especially in a time when things are not going very well. Well, choices and decisions need to be made. Can you make a decision to save some money and not squander it into things that will become irrelevant in the future? All these things in our lives requires you to strike a balance and make a tough decision when it calls for it, instead of leaving a facade of thinking things will get better or getting into that place of denial. You cannot accept reality, that this is your reality, but sometimes we have to wake up and smell the coffee. If that is the reality that we are in and it requires for us to make that tough choice, let us be ready to make it. Otherwise, whatever situation that we're facing will make a choice for us and we'll be drowned into a lot, a much bigger mess than the one we may be experiencing at that particular time.

Speaker 1:

There was a time we had a very big office. Things were working out very well. You know, we saw that graph going up. We had some amazing projections about our business. Then covid hit. We maintained our big office, even though the greater greater part were functioning from home. We almost got into debt because of this. But oh no, we had to maintain our vision, our facade, and at the same time we were in denial to say I know, things will get better Because you get a few contracts here and there. You think things are get better, because you get a few contracts here and there you think things are getting better.

Speaker 1:

Up until such a time it became a struggle to address those expenses. So we had to come to a place where we make a choice. Thankfully we made that choice before we went beyond into debt, because some of these tough choices we have to make can help us wither the storm. But if we don't make them sooner, it means that situation might turn out to be a nightmare, almost getting into debt when you could have avoided it. Because at the end of the day, when you make the right choices, you will enjoy a good night's sleep, but when you avoid making the right choices, we all miss the opportunity to get out of a tough situation that we may be experiencing. So in our case, at some point in the journey we ended up making the decision to shut off the office, reduce the team in that particular time, and it has helped us regain focus and becoming more flexible, to begin to continue focusing to achieve our goals and dreams.

Speaker 1:

What decision are you dreading to make right this moment? You should be in a position to make that choice and begin to see life changing. You may not see the expected result right there and there, but the fact that you have made a tough choice to move out of an expensive apartment into a small home, to take your child from an expensive private school into a place where you know you can afford paying the school fees without getting any stress, because making the tough choices is hard, but what is even harder is to live with the consequences when a situation has made a choice for you over something that you can avoid. It may not be easy to make a tough call, but it is necessary, if you notice the businesses that managed to downsize, to shut off the office when it was necessary. During COVID they saved thousands of dollars. Imagine how much we could have saved. And the worst part about it during that time of COVID we decided to even purchase the most expensive solar equipment that has been very difficult to sell, based on the vision of before COVID and a few clients who say they still want this service. But a few months later they had stopped spending. So we never had the foresight to see where things were going, but we had to learn the hard way.

Speaker 1:

So it's important for you to just come to a place where you make that choice and wither the storm. Are you that kind of person who makes the call when it's needed? Or you dread making that tough choice? And the situation begins to make that tough choice for you, yet you are the one who is supposed to make that tough choice for you. Yet you are the one who is supposed to make that tough choice and you always notice that those people, those businesses that are ready to make the tough choices when it really matters, because what we're talking about is not about oh, let me make a choice now. You know when it doesn't make sense for you to make the choice decision was already meant for you because you could not make the decision yourself. Imagine eating the fast food and all those food that are not healthy for a very long time and your body is deteriorating, your health is not in the right place. Then, all of a sudden, you are sick. You are now being told to go and make those adjustments when you could have made those adjustments yourself when it really mattered. So it's important to make the tough choices so that we wither the storm. But the question is are you ready to make that tough call, that tough decision to make sure you continue on your journey through life? That's a tough place, that is. That's a tough thing to think about.

Speaker 1:

Relationships. You know you're in a bad relationship. There are red flags all over the place, but we can't make the decision. Marriage years later, you are crying, you're frustrated, but you could have made a choice. But all we are saying is in every area of life there are tough decisions we have to make. We should never only want it easy. You know life is not easy. There come a time when life becomes hard and desperate times require tough decisions, desperate measures. That is the only way we can survive a storm. In a storm, you need to find cover. You don't remain in a skyscraper. You find cover underground until the storm has passed. So you don't make a decision to say, okay, I'll stay here, things will get better. What if they don't get better? At least let it be your choice that you would have made to make the changes in your life. To make the changes in your life.

Speaker 1:

I remember at some point In my personal journey I almost got swallowed by debt, personal debt, because I was constantly borrowing and not returning, or borrow from Paul to pay Peter. But I got so tired of that life that I had to make a very tough decision to say you know what? This is not me, this is not how I should live, this is not how I should experience life. So I made a tough decision to say and right now I'm in a far, far, much better place, I don't have any debts. If I do, they are strategic debts. And no one has ever come to my home to say I've come to collect Because I told myself I don't want any stress on my family. I don't want any stress on my family. So all these, they are tough decisions that I had to make throughout the journey of my life, sometimes I delayed making those tough choices. It's okay, but as long as you've made that choice before something major or detrimental affected your life. So let us be ready to make those tough choices. Let's not live in denial.

Speaker 1:

So here are a few tips to make the tough choice. Tip number one get clear on what you want or on the situation you're facing. Have clarity on the situation that you're facing. Take yourself out of the equation and see things from outside, because sometimes when you are in a situation and you get advisement from other people, you know you are not willing to get that advisement until you take yourself out of that equation and see yourself from outside. So I do have a relative right now who can no longer afford Paying the rent of the place that they are staying Because of personal situations that was not even created by them but within the family. But the reality still remains. You are now in this situation. Why not downsize To a smaller home, or even to a one roomed, and start over from there when you are breathing properly? Now you go around and ask for a loan to pay rent and there are no guarantees that once you get that money you are able to return it. So the bottom line remains you want a solution that is long-term, not creating a mountain of more debt. So having that clarity of your situation or of that career that you want to get to, or of the situation knowing, okay, the money that we are earning right now is not enough for us to stay at this place, to take our kids to more expensive schools, less downsize until such a time our capacity increases. So create that clarity.

Speaker 1:

Tip number two don't choose something just because let's not do things out of haste. Be in a position to make out of haste. Be in a position to make an informed decision. Again, it comes back to you having the clarity that you need to make the choice. But also remember that doing something is better than doing nothing. In a situation where you allow the situation to dictate for you, you can actually make a decision. Where you allow the situation to dictate for you, you can actually make a decision and follow through with that decision wherever it may lead you. And tip number four practice being decisive. Be in a learn to be decisive with life. You know you will face problems in your life. Be in a learn to be decisive with life. You know you will face problems in your life. Be in a position to decide. It will make life easier for you in your journey through life. So let's go out there, let's practice tough decision making and let's wither those storms.