Does Deliberation Extinguish Opportunity?

Youngest has gently challenged my application of the Lincoln quote.

Let me set the stage. On the one hand, I think Lincoln's wordy, mid-19th century prose found in the midst of a formal address in which he argued against hasty succession could be interpreted to say that you lose nothing by hesitating to "seize an opportunity" that you would decline if you deliberated carefully.

As a stand-alone, that proposition is certainly true, and it may even be what Lincoln meant. But, I think it's only part of the truth embedded, intended or not, in Lincoln's thought. The rest of the thought as I see it is that delay brought about by deliberation will not cost you opportunities that are worthwhile anyway.

I posit this example: LBJ is reputed to have asked Lady Bird to marry him in a whirlwind -- Specifically, one afternoon, after they had known each other a short time, he took her on an afternoon ride through the Texas Hill Country. Then and there, with no recognizable advance warning, he showed her a ring, told her the preacher was waiting and asked if she would marry him. NOW.

She hesitated, taken aback by his typical ninety-to-nothing, high pressure "reasoning." She wanted time to ponder, to reflect, to consider and even to avoid appearing overly-eager.

To move things along, LBJ said "darlin', some of the best decisions I've ever made, I made in a hurry."

In response, she is reported to have cocked her head, thought for an instant and then uncharacteristically accepted without further deliberation.

They raced to the church and tied the knot.

By most external appearances, the LBJ/LBJ connection worked, though probably more because they made it work, than because it was easy or natural. That is, they remained together for a lifetime, successfully raised a family, and thus, by some measure, seem to have made a good decision at the outset, albeit in an artificially imposed hurry.

Assuming that Lady Bird's decision turned out to be reasonable does not mean the methodology she applied was correct. Assuming that marrying Lyndon turned into a good thing, she was lucky. Assuming the end result was the right result, deliberating on her part would not have "killed the deal." It would most certainly have delayed things, but I don't think her opportunity to marry Lyndon would have evaporated if she had taken the time to think about it. If it did, then it was not the opportunity it appeared to be in his rush-to-a-decision method.

I know this interpretation is different than the "seize the moment" mentality that seems to surround us, and there may be times when it's fine to take a chance and make a decision in a hurry because the potential gain is much greater than the risk.

I am proposing that there are times when avoiding an impulse is not indecisiveness, it's wise and prudent.

Think about it.

©2007 David R. Childress. All Rights Reserved.