I overheard a very interesting dialogue this week. Not only did I hear this topic of discussion once, but thrice in the last 7 days. It was about people who wait for signs before making a decision. So many of us want to be sure so bad that we drag our feet and constantly go back and forth for days, weeks and even months. The fear of making the wrong decision is so monumental to us, that we drive ourselves crazy. In a past post I’ve mentioned my indecisiveness and my fear of choosing the wrong path. I constantly overthink because I fear wasting time. If there are three paths to choose from and I’m leaning towards one path I can’t help but think what if this path fails. What if the other two paths get me to my destiny, and here I am choosing the wrong path that could potentially hold me back. I then talk myself into waiting for a sign or anything to help point me into the right direction. It’s a maddening cycle. So how do we break it? What can we do to give us more confidence when it comes to decision making?
The first thing that we should do is to stop waiting for signs! Whatever decision you make will be the right decision. Let me paint a picture for you. Let’s say you wanted to quit your job that you hate for a new position at a different company. You fear leaving your current job because you’ve been there for 5 years or more, and the fear of the unknown makes you a little indecisive. The new job offers you more money and you feel like that alone should make you choose the new job. So, you go back and forth on it and fear sets in. You decide to NOT take the new job. You remain at your current job even if you’re unhappy, but at least it’s familiar and who’s to say you would’ve been happier over there. As days, weeks and months go by and things start to get really stressful at work you start to regret your decision. Things are actually getting worse, and you are so furious with yourself for not taking that new job. Out of the blue your boss gets fired or leaves. The company gets a new boss, and they are amazing! They take a liking to you and see your potential. You learn a lot from them, and you’re eventually promoted to a higher position making way more than you would have at that other job. In the end you were thankful that you didn’t take job.
The situation can also be flipped. You could’ve chosen the new job and thrived and then all of a sudden you hear that your old job was closing down and now people are out of work. Do you see where I’m getting at? Any decision could be the right decision. Sometimes even the wrong decision can be the right decision. Sometimes the wrong decisions help prepare us for what’s next. Maybe we are not ready yet and we have to be molded and gain more knowledge before we finally prosper. There is no right or wrong decision. Any decision you make about your future will be the right one (as long as it’s legal). You just have to trust yourself. What’s for you, will be for you. Some of us just take longer to get there. We let fear hold us back and we have to learn how to listen to our intuition and just jump. It’s like we look to others to make the decision for us. We want everyone’s perspective so we can get a clear answer when we should start trusting ourselves. We fear the setback, but in the words of Willie Jolley: Sometimes a setback is just a setup for a comeback! So own that decision and believe in yourself!
JustGottaMakeIt 