<p>Prompt: is a bad decision better than no decision at all?</p>
<pre><code>As Wayne Gretzky famously opined, "You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take." Indeed, the capacity to avoid inaction and make ambitious decisions, even if risky, is the only way b which we are truly able to achieve success. Furthermore, even a decision that yields negative consequences is better than no decision at all, as in taking risks that do not pan out, we are able to become stronger willed and more aware individuals in order to learn for the future.
In the fall of my sophomore year of high school, I decided to audition for the titular role in my school's performance of Hamlet. Nervously, I teetered up to the stage to deliver a memorized soliloquy. After five minutes of reciting monotonous, flubbed lines while listening to the cruel snickering of my fellow auditioners, I walked off the stage. As I expected, I did not receive the role of Hamlet; however, to my astonishment, I did receive a note the next day from Mr. Murphy, my school's drama instructor, informing me that he thought I had true potential as a thespian and encouraging me to continue pursuing my passion. To date, I have starred in three plays at my school and am a far more comfortable and accomplished actor. Even though my decision to audition for Hamlet did not yield my desired outcome and was instead met with embarrassment, I am confident that the long-term results were far better than they would have been if I had allowed me fear to keep me from auditioning at all.
Julius Caesar, the famous Roman dictator of the first century B.C., also exemplifies the notion that even poor decisions are worthwhile if they yield valuable knowledge. In 56 B.C., Caesar decided to invade England, and his forces sailed from modern-day France on small ships. Though Caesar was expecting a facile victory, his army was decimated by the English, whom he had vastly underestimated. Determined to learn from his egregious mistake, Caesar assembled Rome's finest engineers to construct larger ships that could withstand attacks from the English forces. In his second attempt, Caesar was far more successful and was able to maneuver his men onto English land, where he established a valuable Roman foothold on the island.
In conclusion, decisions that have poor results initially can have long-term effects that are quite positive. If we are able to learn from and ameliorate our mistakes, then we can allow negative decisions to foster growth and self-improvement. Thus, action is better than inaction because the former enables us to gain knowledge for the future whereas the latter only breeds indecisiveness.
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<p>Thanks a lot!</p>