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70 inspirational decision-making quotes

Famous and inspirational decision quotes to help you make the right choices.

Life is determined by the decisions we make. With so many options available to us, making decisions can sometimes feel daunting or confusing. If you have found yourself wondering lately, “what is the right decision?”, you might be in need of some inspiration from the experts.

At 1000minds, we help people make better decisions every day with our industry-leading decision-making software. We know from experience that often the best decision is not to decide alone. To encourage and guide your thinking, we compiled a list of the most powerful quotes about decisions from humankind’s brightest minds.

So without further ado - we encourage you to go through our list of the best decision-making quotes and arm yourself with the wisdom of centuries to conquer your challenges!

Inspirational quotes on decisions

“Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
  1. “Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
  2. “When making a decision of minor importance, I have always found it advantageous to consider all the pros and cons.” – Sigmund Freud
  3. “Sometimes you make the right decision, sometimes you make the decision right.” – Phil McGraw
  4. “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” – Maya Angelou
  5. “Decision is a sharp knife that cuts clean and straight; indecision, a dull one that hacks and tears and leaves ragged edges behind it.” – Gordon Graham
  6. “Every decision you make reflects your evaluation of who you are.” – Marianne Williamson
  7. “Decision making is easy when your values are clear.” – Roy Disney
  8. “Some of our important choices have a time line. If we delay a decision, the opportunity is gone forever. Sometimes our doubts keep us from making a choice that involves change. Thus an opportunity may be missed.” – James E. Faust
  9. “Life is about choices. Some we regret, some we’re proud of. Some will haunt us forever. The message: we are what we chose to be.” – Graham Brown
  10. “We may think that our decisions are guided purely by logic and rationality, but our emotions always play a role in our good decision making process.” – Salma Stockdale
  11. “Truly successful decision-making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking.” – Malcolm Gladwell
  12. “You and I need to be the decision makers in our own lives and careers. It is also our responsibility to allow and encourage others to do the same.” – Jay Rifenbary
  13. “The quality of your life is built on the quality of your decisions.” – Wesam Fawzi
  14. “Visionary decision-making happens at the intersection of intuition and logic.” – Paul O’Brien
  15. “We are our decisions.” – Prof.Salam Al Shereida
  16. “Decision is a risk rooted in the courage of being free.” – Paul Tillich
  17. “Decision making is the specific executive task.” – Peter Drucker

Decision quotes for motivation

“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” – Nelson Mandela
  1. “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” – Nelson Mandela
  2. “All of us start from zero. We take the right decision and become a hero.” – Govinda
  3. “Sometimes in life, you have to make a selfish decision and do what’s best for you.” – Saquon Barkley
  4. “You cannot make progress without making decisions.” – Jim Rohn
  5. “There’s no wrong time to make the right decision.” – Dalton McGuinty
  6. “Every decision brings with it some good, some bad, some lessons, and some luck. The only thing that’s for sure is that indecision steals many years from many people who wind up wishing they’d just had the courage to leap.” – Doe Zantamata
  7. “Life is filled with difficult decisions, and winners are those who make them.” – Dan Brown
  8. “Shelving hard decisions is the least ethical course.” – Adrian Cadbury
  9. “Your legacy is being written by yourself. Make the right decisions.” – Gary Vaynerchuk
  10. “Sometimes it’s the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.” – Keri Russell
  11. “Not making a decision means forgoing an opportunity.” – Auliq Ice
  12. “Decision making is power. Most people don’t have the guts to make ‘tough decision’ because they want to make the ‘right decision’ and so they make ‘no decision’. Remember, live is short, so do things that matter the most and have the courage to make ‘tough decision’ and to chase your dreams.” – Yama Mubtakeraker
  13. “You are only one decision from a totally different life.” – Wilfred A. Peterson

What is a good decision?

“A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.” – Plato
  1. “A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.” – Plato
  2. “There are times when delaying a decision has benefit. Often, allowing a set period of time to mull something over so your brain can work it through generates a thoughtful and effective decision.” – Nancy Morris
  3. “The best decisions aren’t made with your mind, but with your Instinct.” – Lionel Messi
  4. “A real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided.” – Anthony Robbins
  5. “A decision made from fear is always the wrong decision.” – Tony Robbins
  6. “A decision clouded with doubt is never a good decision.” – Steven Aitchison
  7. “It is often said that a wrong decision taken at the right time is better than a right decision taken at the wrong time.” – Pearl Zhu

Making the right decision quotes

“You can’t make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen.” – Michelle Obama
  1. “You can’t make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen.” – Michelle Obama
  2. “The art of decision making includes the art of questioning.” – Pearl Zhu
  3. “When faced with a decision, choose the path that feeds your soul.” – Dorothy Mendoza Row
  4. “Be open about your thoughts, ideas, and desires and you will be right with your decisions.” – Auliq Ice
  5. “Never make a decision when you are upset, sad, jealous or in love.” – Mario Teguh
  6. “Think 100 times before you take a decision, but once that decision is taken, stand by it as one man.” – Muhammad Ali Jinnah
  7. “Whenever you’re making an important decision, first ask if it gets you closer to your goals or farther away. If the answer is closer, pull the trigger. If it’s farther away, make a different choice. Conscious choice making is a critical step in making your dreams a reality.” – Jillian Michaels
  8. “Always make decisions that prioritize your inner peace.” – Izey Victoria Odiase
  9. “The goal shouldn’t be to make the perfect decision every time but to make less bad decisions than everyone else.” – Spencer Fraseur
  10. “Don’t mourn over your bad decisions. Just start overcoming them with good ones.” – Joyce Meyer
  11. “Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.” – Colin Powell
  12. “If you have a decision to make, list down the pain points of doing it and the pleasures of doing it.” – Romuald Andrade
  13. “Great decision-making comes from the ability to create the time and space to think rationally and intelligently about the issue at hand.” – Graham Allcot
  14. “The only way to make the right decision is to find out which is the wrong decision, to examine that other path without fear, and only then decide.” – Paulo Coelho
  15. “Poor decision making I think, is the number one cause for most of our mistakes. So to make fewer mistakes means to make better decisions, and to make better decisions you must train yourself to think more clearly.” – Rashard Royster
  16. “It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.” – Thomas Sowell
  17. “Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.” – Tony Robbins
  18. “Poor decision making will almost always lead to less than desirable outcomes.” – Matt Fox
  19. “When possible make the decisions now, even if action is in the future. A revised decision usually is better than one reached at the last moment.” – William B. Given

Future effects of decisions

“Choices are the hinges of destiny.” – Pythagoras
  1. “Choices are the hinges of destiny.” – Pythagoras
  2. “Life is a chess match. Every decision that you make has a consequence to it.” – P.K. Subban
  3. “Life presents many choices, the choices we make determine our future.” – Catherine Pulsifer
  4. “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” – Tony Robbins
  5. “The future is fluid. Each act, each decision, and each development creates new possibilities and eliminates others. The future is ours to direct.” – Jacque Fresco
  6. “Our lives will depend upon the decisions which we make, for decisions determine destiny.” – Thomas S. Monson
  7. “Your biography is not your destiny, your decisions are.” – Tony Robbins
  8. “Your life changes the moment you make a new, congruent, and committed decision.” – Tony Robbins
  9. “Success or failure depend on the decisions you make and the path you choose. You are responsible for your future.” – Remez Sasson

Decision quotes about business

“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” – Peter F Drucker
  1. “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” – Peter F Drucker
  2. “Make decisions with the long term in mind. If you were truly the owner of your company and the success or failure of your business hinged on the performance of your team, you would dedicate yourself to constant improvement.” – David Miller
  3. “Business today is about making decisions amid ambiguity.” – Geraldine Laybourne
  4. “The worst business decision you can make is no decision. The needs are not going to go away. Waiting is what’s gotten us in the situation we’re in now.” – John Peace
  5. “Great leaders don’t lead others with bitterness or resentfulness of past mistakes, they lead with hope and knowledge of the past to inform greater decision making in the future.” – Spencer Fraseur

Ready to conquer your next decision?

1000minds helps organizations around the globe make better decisions using state-of-the-art methods and technology. Learn more about how 1000minds can help you improve decision-making processes at your organization.

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