Is there such a thing as a regrettable business decision?

It certainly can feel like there is, but I’d like to challenge this notion in this post…

I’m going to start this post on regrettable business decisions with an assumption.  With the assumption that when you make decisions in your business, more often than not it looks to you like you made a choice.  Would you agree?  I say more often than not because I’m sure that there will be times when things happen in the moment, and are more of an impulse than something that you’ve mulled over before acting?

So what if I was to suggest to you that you don’t have a choice over whether you act on impulse or mull something over?  Can you see any truth in that?  So I’m encouraging you to consider that when something feels instinctive you do it, and when it doesn’t you don’t.  But you don’t get to choose what feels instinctive or not, do you?

Also I would like you to consider the possibility that you couldn’t have made a different decision than the one you did make, at the time that you mulled it over.  You only made the decision that you made as a result of the thoughts that came into your mind as you mulled it over, and how you felt at the time.  But did you actually have any control over what thoughts came into your mind, and how you felt?  I would argue that you didn’t.

So if everything that I’ve said so far makes sense to you, then it would perhaps also make sense to you to suggest that you couldn’t have made an alternative decision to the one that you made.  Can you see the truth in that?  So if that is true, then how could you possibly regret any of the business decisions that you’ve made?  You didn’t actually make them!

I can remember my Dad explaining something along these lines to me when I was a young girl.  It sounded like nonsense, yet also like one of the truest truths I’d ever heard!  Why is this?!  Well the ego doesn’t like the idea that you don’t actually make decisions.  The ego is sold on the personal.  On being right.  So the ego provides the resistance to this notion.  The part of you that is beyond the ego sees the truth.  Feels that there is definitely something in this.  Don’t worry about what your ego thinks!  Keep reading…

So let’s take this notion of regrettable business decisions one step further.

The idea that you could have made a decision in business which you regret implies that the outcome was all wrong.  Right and wrong are only judgements, and judgements in time for that matter.  Did you know that the invention of stainless steel was an accident?  The product was originally thrown in the skip as the wrong outcome.  However months later when it hadn’t rusted, it’s incredible value was seen.  Is it possible that every business decision that gets made has value?  No matter how much of an epic failure it may have appeared to have been.  Or how much money it may have cost…

Did you know that WD40 is thus called because the first 39 attempts were unsuccessful…?

Sure you can tell yourselves a story around what that ‘failure’ means about you, and your worth, and whether you’re okay or not.  But the truth is, all of that story is made up.  You know deep down that you are okay and you are worthy.  However the outcome manifests.  You only feel bad/feel regret when you are believing otherwise.  This feeling is your clue that you are resisting what’s true.  A knowing that there is never anything to regret.