How to Tell the Difference Between Fear and Good Judgment

Can fear make a bad decision feel like good judgment? In episode #1212 of The BIGG Success Show, discover how to separate real risks from imagined ones and make courageous decisions without being reckless.

[transcript]

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Imagine fear walking into a business meeting. It’s wearing a nice suit. It has a briefcase at the end of its extended arm.

And when it gets a chance to speak, it doesn’t say: “I’m scared.”

No. Rather than that, It says: “The timing isn’t right.” Or “We need more information.” Or “Let’s be realistic.”

That’s what makes fear so hard to recognize when you’re an experienced, capable adult. Your fear can sound remarkably reasonable.

And that matters when you’re considering a meaningful move: A career change. business opportunity, investment, difficult conversation, or life change.

You’ve learned to respect risk. You know that rushing into a decision can be costly. But sometimes what sounds like good judgment is fear giving you perfectly sensible reasons to stay where you are.

So how do you know when you’re being wisely cautious, or when fear is quietly making the decision?

In this episode we’ll explore:

Why fear can change the way you see risk.
How to recognize when careful preparation has become avoidance.
How to make a courageous decision without becoming reckless.

Let’s start with something fear can do without us even realizing it.

Fear Can Change the Way You See Risk

Fear doesn’t just affect how you feel. It can influence how you evaluate a situation. Research out of Stanton found that fearful people tended to make more pessimistic judgments about risk and more risk-averse choices. That doesn’t mean you should ignore fear. Fear serves an important protective purpose.

But when you’re afraid, the downside can become much easier to see than everything else. Suppose you’re considering leaving a secure job for a promising opportunity. Your mind quickly goes to:

– What if it doesn’t work out?
– What if you lose income?
– What if you regret leaving?

Those are legitimate concerns. Good judgment should consider them.

But a complete risk assessment also looks at the other side. What if you spend another five years in work you’ve outgrown? What if you miss the opportunity to develop new skills, earn more, or do something more meaningful? What might staying cost you?

That last question is powerful because the familiar choice rarely feels risky. You already know it. So when a decision scares you, get specific about the concern.

“The timing isn’t right” tells you very little.

“I’m concerned that my income could drop 30 percent for the first six months” gives you something to evaluate – and perhaps do something about.

Fear thrives in vague possibilities. Good judgment gets specific.

How to Recognize When Careful Preparation Becomes Avoidance

Now we come to a tougher distinction. Good judgment gathers information. But you can always find:

– One more article to read.
– One more person to ask.
– One more spreadsheet to run.
– One more reason to wait another month.

At some point, additional information stops improving the decision. It simply postpones it. One of the clearest warning signs is moving goalposts.

– You said you’d move forward when you saved $20,000. You saved it. Now you need $30,000.
– You wanted evidence that customers would buy. Three customers bought. Now you need ten.
– You wanted advice from someone you trust. They encouraged you. Now you need another opinion.

When the conditions for action keep changing, pay attention. You may be trying to eliminate something that no amount of preparation can eliminate: uncertainty.

Instead, define what you genuinely need before making the decision.

– If you need six months of savings, you have a target.
– If you need three paying customers, you have a target.
– If you need an attorney to review the agreement, schedule the meeting.

Then look for ways to reduce the risk without requiring certainty.

– Run a pilot.
– Freelance before quitting.
– Test before launching.
– Invest a little before investing a lot.
– Have the difficult conversation before making assumptions about how the other person will respond.

BIGG Insight
Personal entrepreneurs manage risk. They don’t wait for a world where risk disappears.

Make a Courageous Decision Without Becoming Reckless

Here’s where this gets practical. Once you’ve identified the real concern and gathered the information that matters, widen the decision. Consider three things:

What could go wrong?
What could go right?
What matters enough to accept some uncertainty?

That third consideration changes the conversation. You can’t judge whether a risk is worth taking without considering where you’re trying to go.

That’s one reason we put so much emphasis on direction in our Life Map Course. When you know what matters most to you personally, professionally, and financially, you have a better standard for evaluating opportunities.

Does this choice move you toward the life you want? And what happens if you don’t make the move?

Research on status quo bias has shown our tendency to favor an existing course of action. The familiar choice can feel safer simply because it’s familiar.

Yet staying where you are carries consequences too. Staying in the same career has risks. Avoiding an important conversation has risks. Waiting another year has risks.

So compare the risks and opportunities of moving forward with the risks and opportunities of staying where you are.

Then make the best decision you can with the information you have.

Courage doesn’t require you to ignore the downside. It means fear gets a voice in the discussion without automatically getting the deciding vote.

BIGG Assignment

Take one meaningful decision you’ve been delaying.

Give yourself a deadline to make the decision.

Then take a sheet of paper and create three columns:
KNOW | FEAR | CONTROL

Under KNOW, list what the evidence actually tells you.

Under FEAR, list what you’re worried might happen but don’t actually know will happen.

Under CONTROL, list the things you can do to reduce the downside.

Then choose one of three actions:
Move. Modify. Decline.

Move if the evidence supports going forward and the remaining barrier is uncertainty you’re willing to accept.

Modify if the opportunity makes sense but you can take reasonable steps to reduce the downside first.

Decline if the evidence shows the risk doesn’t fit your priorities, resources, or direction.
And if you truly need more information, identify exactly what you need – and keep your decision deadline.

Don’t let “I’m still thinking about it” become the decision you make by default.

BIGG Takeaway

Good judgment considers fear. It doesn’t automatically obey it.

Let fear point out the risks.

Let the evidence help you understand them.

Then let the life you want help you decide which risks are worth taking.

It leads to BIGG Success.

On our next episode: We measure success in all kinds of ways—goals reached, deadlines met, results delivered. But what if some of your most valuable contributions are the ones nobody’s counting?

That’s next time on BIGG Success!

Follow or subscribe to the BIGG Success Show so you’ll be with us for our next episode.

Here’s to your BIGG success!

George “The Professor” & Mary-Lynn

Co-Founders, BIGG Success