Stop Chasing Validation. Start Making Decisions.

Most builders say they want validation.

What they actually want is reassurance.

But reassurance doesn’t move projects forward.

Decisions do.

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Validation is not the goal

Validation feels productive because it’s comfortable:

• Likes
• “This is cool”
• Vague encouragement
• Non-committal feedback

None of that tells you what to do next.

Real validation creates constraint.

It forces a choice.

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Every project needs a forcing function

If your project doesn’t force a decision, it will drift forever.

Good forcing functions look like this:

• “If 5 people don’t reply, I stop.”
• “If no one pays, I don’t build.”
• “If usage doesn’t happen without reminders, I kill it.”

Bad ones look like this:

• “I’ll keep improving it.”
• “I’ll market it more later.”
• “It’s not ready yet.”

That’s not strategy.

That’s avoidance.

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Feedback is useless without a decision attached

Feedback only matters if it answers one question:

“What do I do next?”

If feedback doesn’t help you decide to:

• Double down
• Change direction
• Stop

…it’s noise.

You don’t need more opinions.

You need clear exit criteria.

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The simplest rule

Before you ship anything, write this sentence:

“If X doesn’t happen by Y, I will Z.”

Examples:

• “If no one signs up in 7 days, I archive it.”
• “If users don’t complete the flow unaided, I redesign it.”
• “If I can’t explain it in one sentence, I pause.”

No ambiguity.

No coping.

No zombie projects.

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The uncomfortable truth

Most projects don’t fail.

They just never end.

They hang around because ending them feels like admitting something.

But killing the wrong thing early is not failure.

It’s progress.

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The shift

Stop asking:

“Do people like this?”

Start asking:

“What decision does this enable?”

Because clarity doesn’t come from validation.

It comes from choosing what happens next.