Sometimes we must make split second decisions, and sometimes it is in our best interest to pause, wait, and delay the decision. Of course, not deciding is in fact deciding, but it can be for a thought-out reason or out of procrastination, fear of the consequences, or just not wanting to be responsible. The thought-out reasons require discipline. We can make decisions based on evidence we have gathered, or we can make decisions based on things that we hold to be true. There is another way that we make decisions which may or may not be an extension of evidence-based decision making, that is intuitive or hunch-based decision making.
While some may say, “just stick to the facts,” is it not possible that a hunch or a gut feeling is a fact for which there is no inductive or deductive evidence? Perhaps the greatest scientific discoveries, the most difficult court cases, and even the best decisions we have made in our lives, have been made and determined by the disciplined use of each of these decision-making processes. If we ignore our gut feelings, we may later discover that there were facts missing from the evidence, that perhaps our gut was trying to tell us. If we only go on our gut feelings and ignore the obvious facts, or fail to research and search for evidence, we restrict our ability to make informed and wise decisions.
Being disciplined for success is not just a matter of using our heads, it is also a matter of using our hearts, and our intuitions. It takes discipline to gather evidence, review the evidence, and then ask, what feels to be the right or appropriate way to move. The key to our success is reasoning with our heads, hearts, and guts. Leaving either stone unturned, may indicate that we lack the rigor which is needed to be disciplined for success.