What Are the Consequences of Your Actions?

We all know that whether it is in our business or in our personal lives, there are often consequences (intended and unintended) for our actions. Admittedly, sometimes we get lucky and the potential consequences never happen, but, more often, they do catch up with us. Your willingness to accept the consequences often guide your actions.

There can be two kinds of consequences—good and bad. Generally, we want to minimize the bad consequences and maximize the good consequences.

The very first action that generates consequences is starting a business. This decision can lead to all kinds of consequences both good and bad.

On the good (even great) side, you can increase your incomes, meeting many people some of which might result in other opportunities, increased leisure time, decreased stress because you are doing something you enjoy. You can also learn a great deal about yourself as well as running a business.

On the not so great side, you can experience financial problems (if you spend too much in the business relative to the returns), you can experience fear and frustration if the business is not successful. You may also meet people that do not have your best interest at heart and they may take advantage of you, definitely a bad consequence.

You can minimize these bad consequences by not investing more than you can afford in your business (no matter how much money someone promises you), checking out the people that are considering working with (at least as much as you can), and evaluating your business on a consistent basis.

One action that you might take in your business is to take a day (or a week, or a month) off. The consequences of not working are generally that you will generate less income. This is, of course, a known consequence.

The unknown consequence may be missing a call from a potential distributor and, as a result, having them sign up with someone else or not sign up at all. Another would be to miss a call from a client and having them, in their frustration, go to someone else.

While it is not advisable to never take any time off, you have to measure the worth of the time off compared to the potential consequences. There are, of course, ways to make sure the consequences are minimal such as letting people know in advance that you won’t be available, giving them someone else they can talk to your absence, etc.

The bottom line is, no matter what decisions you are making, try to think of all the potential consequences, good and bad, decide how to maximize the good consequences and minimize the bad consequences. Decide if the action is more valuable to you than the potential bad consequences.

Make up your mind to act decidedly and take the consequences. No good is ever done in this world by hesitation. Thomas Henry Huxley