Should I be afraid of making the wrong decision?

Rabbi Landau answers that hesitation is the greater danger. “So make decisions, stay behind them,” he says. “Even the wrong decisions, certainty will carry you further than endless hesitation.”

That does not mean deciding carelessly. “Yes, you check, you study, you ask. But once you move, you move with certainty.” The research comes first; after that, doubt has no place, “because doubt is poison. Doubt paralyzes us.”

The real cost of fearing a wrong decision, he warns, is that “doubt keeps you waiting for someone else to live your life for you.” A person who will not decide hands his life to others by default.

In A Soul at Peace, Rabbi Landau gives a practical step: when you face a decision, give yourself time to look into it, but set a date by which you will decide. On that day, decide, and move forward without “maybe.”

Going deeper: Rabbi Landau's teaching, level by level

Surface claim

Certainty carries a person further than endless hesitation, even when a decision turns out wrong.

Fear, vulnerability, or tension

Fear of the wrong choice paralyzes, and it leaves a person waiting for someone else to live his life.

What may be behind it

In A Soul at Peace, Rabbi Landau writes that a decision made with complete trust will succeed more than a “correct” decision made with hesitation.

Deepest human truth

Living with Hashem means moving with conviction once you have done your part.

More questions from this teaching

• How do I stop living in doubt and start making decisions?