Making Better Decisions

Opinion by Drew Williamson

© 2026 Williamson News Service LLC

During my 14 years as a retirement planner, I learned a lot about the thousands of people I talked to and even more about myself. One thing that became clear to me over time is the huge benefit of following a good process when making important decisions.

The first step in the process is to know my personal biases and to take steps to protect myself and those I love. To do that, I examine what facts I have collected in support of my belief as well as information that indicates another course of action. In the absence of that self-examination, I have left myself open to all manner of mistakes.

For example, more than 30 years ago I decided that I was going to make money by beating the stock market. Essentially, I was betting with my own money that I could somehow identify when to get in and out of specific stocks. I had some winners but overall came up short. I still have the voided stock certificates of now worthless companies to remind me of my folly.

I had failed to collect all the facts regarding investing. I fell prey to sales propaganda spread by the investment industry, commissioned stock brokers and media in search of advertising dollars.

As I got more experienced and educated, I learned about volumes of Nobel-prize-winning research in support of long-term passive investing. What investing success I have had can be attributed to that path. Before that, the only people who were making money were the people selling me their stock-picking services. I was funding their retirement instead of my own.

So, now I try and make sure that I gather good relevant information to base my decisions upon. That requires effort. I avoid solely considering information that agrees with my preconceived ideas. Better to have an open mind until I make my decision.

I now try not to rush into decisions unless I must. Delaying gives me time to gather more relevant information and make better decisions.

My purpose here is not to make better investors. If I helped in that area, then consider that a bonus. But having a good process and following it will help you make better decisions in many areas of your life. This benefit will prove even greater than just making good investments.

For example, the current political and economic environment is treating facts as if they are individual, relative things. We hear phrases like “My Truth” or “Alternate Set of Facts”. Politicians and lawyers bend the facts to make truth pretzels. Voters who don’t take the time and make effort to acknowledge their biases, collect the facts and make informed decisions are placing themselves and the people they love in serious jeopardy.

Drew Williamson is a freelance writer in Arizona. His professional expertise includes newspaper reporting and editing, advertising sales and management, and investment advising and retirement planning. He has a BA in Journalism/Political Science from the UA in Tucson and a MBA in Strategic Management from ASU in Tempe. He is a proud member of the Valley of the Sun Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ).