Actions are the physical and mental activities necessary to carry out decisions. We are not concerned here with reflexes that are not a result of decision making. Each decision causes various actions. For instance, the decision to go for a walk involves more actions than just walking. One might think about where to walk, may change clothes, invite a friend, open a door, lock a door, travel to the place selected, etc. After the walk there will be more activity resulting from the decision to go for a walk. On a broader scale, the decision to seek a certain vocation involves a complex array of activities over a great length of time. The decision itself may be lost in the activity preceding its attainment. That is, during the activity set in motion by the decision to seek the vocation, one may make a miscalculation resulting in the original decision being rendered impossible or highly unlikely. Contrary decisions may be made, eliminating the effectiveness or usefulness of activities set in motion by the original decision. Inconsistent decisions result in actions that may conflict with one another. For example, the decision to attain a certain vocation and the requisite studying will be impacted by the short term decision to take drugs to experience a ‘high.’ The decision to indulge in drugs may result in further actions that render the original decision moot. The many actions in a person’s life are a result of the many decisions made by that person.
Actions are limited to the range of one’s capability. One cannot decide to do something that is beyond his capability. He can long to do it. He can desire to do it. But he cannot decide to do it. A person can decide to attempt something of which he is incapable, but he cannot make the decision to do it. One should accurately determine the activities within his capacity. An accurate knowledge of the range of possible actions would reduce one’s frustration from attempting the impossible. One must accurately assess the possibilities, however, or he may avoid attempting to do something just because it ‘appears’ impossible when in fact it is not.
Actions are an important gauge in decision making. When one’s actions produce results that are consistent with reasonable expectations, they confirm the accuracy of the decision. That one’s expectations are in fact reasonable is an important factor in determining whether one will be able to use actions and their results as a guide for accuracy. At the primitive level, when an infant becomes aware that his parent appears immediately after he starts crying, he makes his first ‘decision.’ His crying is the resulting action. His parent’s immediate appearance will confirm his decision. A wise parent will discern whether the crying is out of need or the result of a desire for attention. The parent’s wisdom at this point will assist the child in becoming a good decision maker. When a teenager decides to gain the approval of his peers, he will do so with certain expectations. His actions may vary. He may try out for the football team, but if he lacked the requisite coordination or his peers were not interested in football, the results of his actions would not confirm the decision. He may buy a car. He may do something ‘daring.’ He may try drugs. He will search for that action that is confirmed when it appears he has gained their approval. He may also become very frustrated in the process. This frustration should be considered when measuring the accuracy of his underlying decision to gain the approval of his peers.
Many times the decision maker is not aware of the depth of his decision or of the actual process of decision making, which leads to a misinterpretation of the results of his actions. Further, the resulting confirmation ~ or lack thereof ~ may not be immediate and the actions and their consequences are then misunderstood. Actions and their short term results may be misread as confirming underlying decisions when, in fact, they confirm only a superficial or surface decision. For example, the teenager’s decision to buy a car to gain the approval of his peers may be confirmed by their reactions to his car. The accuracy of the underlying decision to gain their approval, however, is not confirmed. The results of the underlying decision may not be seen until years later.
As actions and their results confirm the accuracy of a decision, confidence increases. Confidence in this context may be defined as the willingness to act. A person decides to play golf. He becomes more and more consistent as he plays and his score continues to decrease. His confidence in his decision increases.
If one does not understand his decision making process he may gain false confidence through misinterpreting the results of his actions. He may even decide to misinterpret the results in an attempt to bolster his confidence. The teenager may continue to grow in confidence that it was a good decision to attempt to gain the approval of his peers because his actions appear to be succeeding in impressing them. He may then do things he knows are wrong because he has arrived at the conclusion that attempting to gain their approval is a correct form of behavior. Many young men and women have done great harm to themselves and others because of their incorrect interpretation of the results of their actions.
If the actual results are inconsistent with expected results, confidence is lost and frustration increases. When a new salesman sets out after memorizing his ‘canned’ presentation, he may expect to sell every prospect. At the end of the first day, or perhaps week, he may be very frustrated and discouraged when there are no sales. He must then make a decision as to what changes, if any, may need to be made. An inaccurate assessment at this point could lead to greater frustration and discouragement. Frustration and loss of confidence, if used correctly, can be helpful tools in decision making.
Many factors enter into the interpretation of results of one’s actions. The effects of other decision making components are some. Some factors that affect one’s interpretation may not be under the control of the decision maker, which restricts the reliability of the results as indicators of accurate decisions, unless those outside factors are properly analyzed. Each of these factors must be considered in determining the appropriate course of action and in making wise decisions.
One’s actions and the results of those actions must be interpreted correctly and all factors must be considered in their examination, if they are to be used as a helpful gauge. One must become proficient in the analysis of his actions, reactions, and responses and the reactions and responses of others in order to master the decision making process. The first step is to make the decision to achieve this goal.
