Deliberation

Every one of us, at one point or another, have come to a place of reflection with the conclusion “I should have taken more time to make that decision.”  Usually we arrive here because we realize in the present that while making the decisions that led to this place, we weren’t thinking of the future.  Sadly, once we arrive at this point of self-analysis and find our plan wanting, it is already too late to change our course.  I would say that this scenario is not uncommon among us and without looking too hard you will find many stuck in the very same spot.

If you are familiar with comic book heroes you may be able to relate this moment of regret to a character you remember.  The Hulk was known for many things.  His strength, his rage, his lack of intelligence, and his lack of predictability - not a great resume but certainly a force to be reckoned with when he arrived on the scene.  Now, he wasn’t always like that.  In fact, he began as Bruce Banner, a physicist, conducting experiments with gamma radiation.  During a testing, to save the life of a pedestrian, Bruce exposed himself to harmful doses of radiation.  This radiation enabled the transformation that created the monstrous Hulk.

Bruce was a scientist.  He made his decisions based on hard proven data.  His choices were well-founded on tested principles and formulas.  He didn’t rush into things.  His life was one of following the scientific process to arrive at solid scientific findings.  He was not rash.  He did not rush.  His methods were predictable.  He understood that time spent now would save time later unlocking a future built on solid decisions and facts.

What an ironic shift the gamma-induced transformation brought!  All that Bruce stood for, all that he practiced, all that he relied on was overcome in a tide of fury and confusion.  He would be plunged into a world overcome with impulses too strong to resist and fury that acted without thought.  It was his negative, his antithesis, his nightmare.

What did Bruce lose when the Hulk emerged?  He lost everything it took for him to be a careful decision maker.  He lost the discipline it took to put off hasty decisions that would reap a quick pay out in favor of carefully researched choices that would reap benefits over time.  He lost his talent to be deliberative.

Maybe we don’t feel exactly like the Hulk when we make a hasty decision.  Maybe we don’t turn green and terrorize all around us as we vent our fury at any target that presents itself but it is a fitting analogy to what we are left with, when our ability to deliberate is removed.

According to the Gallup Organization’s StrengthFinder Assessment those with the deliberative aptitude are known for the careful process they use to navigate as they make decisions.  If this is one of your talents it is quite possible that you see the rest of us as raging green behemoths as you coolly and carefully arrive at solid choice after solid choice. You may be right.