I have been blogging for over ten years now. I’ve garnered a loyal audience, but nothing
like the readership I got recently when I wrote about indecision. Clearly this is a hot topic as over 2,000
readers stopped by to read what I had to say, which leads me to ask why?
Why is it that indecision is epidemic in our culture? My first conclusion is that perhaps we just
have too many choices. “Back in the day”
we were much more limited in what we could pursue as a career, for
example. At the risk of aging myself,
when I left high school, you could be a nurse, teacher or secretary, that was
it. Today the options are endless.
But I suspect the more underlying problem is fear. Fear of making the wrong decision . Fear of
making mistakes. Fear of failure. And maybe even fear of success. So many of us
strive for perfection, even when we know deep down it doesn’t exist. So we wait until we think it is a sure thing
before we make the final decision. But if
you wait too long, it could be too late and you miss out on an exciting
opportunity.
Perhaps because I am an entrepreneur, I am more comfortable
with risk. I am used to ambiguity, as it
goes with the territory. So making a
decision does not paralyze me. Right now
in fact I am poised to embark on a new venture which will shake things up. Am I nervous?
You bet. Am I worried it will
bomb? Yup. Will I be on a steep learning
curve? Yes. But is this going to stop me? No. I
get excited at the potential and I am building in time to plan. This is not something that is going to happen
overnight.
For me, staying still or with the status quo is never an
option. Perhaps it should be, but I want
to grow and evolve personally and professionally, and sometimes that can get
messy. I need to be prepared for the
worse case scenario, but at the same time have the faith and confidence that
this will work.
In my original blog I spoke about how indecision was a
decision in itself. Sometimes in order
to move forward we have to choose. Perhaps as a society we have started to
overthink things instead of listening to our intuition. It does in fairness, help if you have done
some self-awareness work, in that you know and understand your strengths, weaknesses
and foibles. Being in tune with your
values and your “code of ethics” can also help point you in the right
direction.
If you are faced with some tough decisions, ask yourself
what is the worst thing that could happen if I do A or B? Think through what you could do to soften a
bad landing. But I encourage you – make a decision – move ahead. Nothing is carved in stone. If it doesn’t
work, learn from it and move on.
Just don’t sit there, literally stuck in the mud. Break free from the indecision that is
holding you hostage. You deserve better.
