Making a Choice: How to Break Indecision

Photo by Vladislav Babienko on Unsplash

Our decisions can determine certain outcomes in life. Some may have life-altering consequences, while others have only seemingly minor repercussions. Nonetheless, we all need to make decisions in life and no matter what those decisions lead to, you won't know until you actually make them. The fear of making the wrong decisions often paralyze people, and instead of facing their circumstances head on, they make excuses to delay making a decision. Of course, before making a decision, one must weigh the benefits against the costs, or take into account the risks associated with each option. But take too long making a decision and either the opportunity will simply pass or the problem will soon overtake you.

I think what causes indecision in a lot of people is simply the fear or the worry of making the wrong one. So, for example, wondering which job opening to apply for or who to marry. Sure, these are significant decisions in a person's life, but we shouldn't fear making the wrong decision, if it is the wrong one. We won't know beforehand whether we made the right or wrong decision, that can only be known in hindsight. So, what's the point of worrying or wavering? If you have counted the costs, and you feel confident in the decision that you're going to make, then you should simply go with it, and see where the wind takes you.

It's all a matter of perspective. If you're a perfectionist and want everything to go according to your plans or expectations, then you won't be happy in life. You're always going to be worrying or uptight about everything, and it's going to affect your relationships with other people. Granted, if things go your way, then you'll have made remarkable achievements. But, life isn't fair. Things rarely go the way we planned, and so, the best thing to do is to put your best foot forward, hope for the best, make sure that you have done everything in your power, and leave the rest to God.

It's not really complicated. You're not going to merely throw caution to the wind, right? At the very least, you have surveyed your options and considered all the possible scenarios. If there's any scenario which you didn't foresee, then just go with the flow, be flexible, and use whatever resources you've got to resolve the issue. The best advice I can really give for indecisive people is the Nike slogan: just do it! Worry about what will happen when they happen. Cross your t's, dot your i's, and see how things pan out. If you can, make a contingency plan. But if you can't, look for people you can rely on to support you and help you along the way.

Here's a thought as well: perhaps to help you break from your indecisive streak, you can do one thing each day that's based on impulse. Just do whatever you feel like in the moment, or whatever you come up with out of the blue. Do it and see how it goes for you. That should alleviate your anxiety from the expectation that things should go right or that nothing bad should happen. Once you are faced with the reality that life is just unpredictable and there's no point in stressing yourself about what may or may not be, then you will be free from the shackles of indecision. You'll be able to learn to accept things as they come, and do what you can with the situation.

One thing I always remind myself is that as long as I'm still alive, there's still something I can do. If you're not dead yet, no matter how difficult things might get, then you can do something about it. Life is too beautiful to waste worrying about the woes of tomorrow. Tomorrow hasn't come yet, you have today, and whatever is on your plate is what you need to focus on. Be grateful that you're still alive another day because a lot of people don't even have that luxury. Go on and live life to the fullest, enjoy the time that you have with your family, and eat a delicious meal from time to time. Then, you'll find yourself not worrying too much about the future or taking too much time in making your decisions.