Not a day goes by that we do not feel unsure about something. Nobody has all the answers and even if they did, things change.

I constantly question how sure I am about decisions I made and been content to “not to know.”

That does not mean we should be unsure forever. Clarity rescues us in the end.

There are several ways to make a right decision. Keep making wrong decisions. Trial by fire is not the way. Educated effort is.

When you are unclear of your goals, you may not have taken enough time to clarify and specify what you want to accomplish.

A line in the Bible reads: “If the eye be single, the body is full of life. If the eye be evil, the body is full of darkness.”

UNTIL CLARITY EXISTS, silence is the safest policy if you are unsure. Hesitancy and uncertainty are more about doubt and emptiness. Follow the pain. Follow the money. Ask who benefits? Which pain is worse? Acting or not acting.

Dale Carnegie once said, “If you are right 51% of the time you are a winner.” One would hope for a better batting average than that. Feeling unsure about life is part of the path so do not avoid it.

My grandfather Elias S. Mack, Sr. was a popular politician, being elected Mayor of the tiny hamlet of Lexington in the late 40s. His son, Elias S. Mack, Jr. was elected mayor 40 years to the day after his father.

While I often refer to my grandfather’s success at being elected to public office, I only recently learned that he had been twice defeated previously. My guess? He took a deep breath and hopped right back into the ring until he finally won.

IF COVID 19 taught us anything it is that the future is uncertain. Now we know anything can happen and probably will, in a divided society where “unsure” is the backdrop of this time.

Politics, religion, economics have all become drastically “unsure” by definition. The fact is none of us have traversed this path before. It is literally all new turf.

My mother, Mama Alice, would simply say: “You have to find another way. Quitting is not an option.”

To be “unsure” about a decision is a pragmatic way to approach a choice instead of applying the same old solution to the same old headache. It forces us to think about other ways to get there.

Sadly, I have learned the hard way about options. You can start late, start over, start differently, act differently and still fail, not because of yourself but despite yourself. Ironically, you can still succeed.

Question something, as Americans do today, is the formula for understanding it. We should never navigate life on the rails of being “unsure.”

Michael Aun, CSP®, CPAE® won the Toastmasters International World Championship of Public Speaking.