As you get to know me you will learn that I have a tendency to put a lot of thought into my decisions. Often, that can be a good characteristic, but, just as often, I overthink things. Deciding on my first blog post is a perfect example.
I have to admit that before I even acknowledged my plans to start a blog, or registered my domain name, I experimented with a few attempts at entries. After all, I wasn’t so sure I had anything to say, or knew how to say it. It turns out, the writing part was fun.
The difficulty came when I tried decide what to post first. I read and re-read several things I had written, but I couldn’t decide. I realized the primary issue preventing me from choosing was a fear that there was only one “right” answer. So, I scratched the other options for now and decided to write about that fear.
I often talk with clients about difficult decisions. Many of them far more difficult than what to write on a blog. However, the message I hope to help clients with applies here just as well. When we make decisions we are often overwhelmed by the belief that there is only one right choice and all the others will lead to catastrophic outcomes. Most of the time, this simply isn’t true.
For those of you who share my pleasure in action movies, the “bomb dilemma” comes to mind. There are so many scenes where someone is faced with deciding which wire to cut in order to disarm the bomb about to destroy the city. Thankfully, most of us will never be faced with such high stakes decisions. Yet, we often confront the decision making process as if one wrong decision could blow up our world.
Take some of the milestone life decisions such as where to go to college, or what job offer to accept. The likelihood is we will be happy with several of the available options. Just as importantly, these decisions don’t risk permanent, catastrophic outcomes. There is no doubt we may make a choice that leaves us less happy than we hoped. The good news is we can transfer schools, or jobs. The process may be less than ideal, but life has not been irrevocably altered. No city has been destroyed.
The best we can do is move forward thoughtfully, but preferably without torturing ourselves into sleepless nights. As my training (and my dad) taught me, weigh your pros and cons. In doing so, think about both short-term and long-term consequences. Don’t assume that just because one column of your list is longer, that it is the obvious answer. Different factors will have more weight and some will be deal breakers. If the decision doesn’t become a clear choice, you may have to take a leap of faith. All the worry in the world can’t guarantee the right choice because there often isn’t one perfect decision.
So, there you have it. My first post. Hopefully, deciding what to write won’t always be so difficult!
