They have outcomes. Today’s society has an insatiable desire for definite answers. You’re right or you’re wrong. You’re good or you’re bad. You’re the angel or the devil. But with the exception of math and the sciences, every decision we make is based on discernment, context, experience, and judgment.
Consider the messages in which we are immersed every day. Politicians demonize the other party’s position. Marketers insist disaster will strike if you don’t purchase their product. The media portrays complicated situations as simple choices between good and evil. Those with differing opinions are automatically labeled as biased, chauvinistic, narrow-minded, racist, homophobic, selfish, ignorant, left-wing, right-wing, or my personal favorite, lacking in common sense. As one person said to me recently, “I’d like to agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong.”
So how do you insulate yourself in on the job, in social organizations, or anywhere else tough decisions need to be made? Examine the larger context. No matter what we decide, no matter how we act, there will be those who oppose us, criticize us, even call us names. But if we’re well-informed, we can be at peace knowing that we acted with good intent in the larger context.
We are presently immersed in a society that seems to seek blame rather than collaboration or solutions at every turn. We must rise above this noise comforted by the fact that we did our best, regardless of the outcome. We have no choice. It’s the only way to thrive.