“There is no right choice—only good choosing.”

Why it was said

Bill Burnett and Dave Evans write this in Designing Your Life (2016), in the chapter on choosing among the options a reader has generated and tested. As elsewhere in the book, it is the reframe of a dysfunctional belief, in this case "To be happy, I have to make the right choice."

What it actually means

The belief they are correcting assumes that one option out there is correct and that missing it means losing. That belief makes people research endlessly, delay, and then second-guess whatever they pick. Burnett and Evans move the weight from the outcome to the process. Good choosing means gathering and narrowing the options, consulting both reason and feeling, committing, and then letting go of the paths not taken. A choice made that way can still disappoint, because no process controls the future. What it removes is the regret of having chosen carelessly, and the paralysis of waiting for certainty that will not come. The line suits career decisions in particular, where the information is never complete and most options are reversible.

How to use it

1. 1When a decision has stalled, write down the two or three options still on the table and set a date by which you will choose between them.
2. 2After you decide, list what you are giving up with the other options, then stop researching them for a fixed period, such as a month.