5 Ways to Help You Make a Big Decision

1. Make a List.

Yes, you heard me right. It is time for the good ole’ list. Making a list(s) can really help you organize all your thoughts. For me, my thoughts are all-consuming especially when I need to make an important decision. I feel overwhelmed, and the more I think of things, the more I feel lost and overanalyze. But the more I don’t think about it, I feel as though I am putting off the decision. It causes even more anxiety. So, I feel like I can’t make the decision, and I end up being unproductive and hard on myself. If you experience this, then making a list will be helpful. I like to just write down everything and anything in no particular order. I just let the thoughts come into my head and write them down. From there, I take out the relevant thoughts and make it into an old-fashion pros and cons list. I am a visual person, and this helps me to see all sides before I make a big decision. Try this, and I bet you will feel as though you are making some headway, and that’s because you are! 😊

2. Rip Up the List.

Yes, you read that right. Rip up the list you just made. And do not rip it so you can tape it back together. I have tried it, and it's no fun trying to put it together. This is when I thought I messed up by allowing my frustration to get the best of me, but in reality, I learned something important. As I tried to put my list back together, I tried to remember what was on that list. It hit me that if I didn’t remember most of the list then maybe some of those points weren’t as important as I thought that they were. I remembered a few key points, and believe it or not, it helped! It helped narrow down my decision. So, tear up the list and see what parts of the list you remember. I would focus on these. And no, making the list is necessary in order to get all your thoughts and points out on paper. In my opinion, this is a necessary step. Before you knock it, just give it a try. It is all part of this beautifully messy process! 😊

3. Sit with the Indecisiveness.

So, after you have done the list and ripped it up, and found the main things to focus on, just sit in the confusion. Disclaimer: This will not be easy or fun. It will make you feel weird and awkward, and you will be tempted to do something else to keep you busy. But it is imperative that you just sit with this uncomfortableness. It will take some getting used to, but once you do, your clarity will improve greatly. This is important as you want to make the best decision possible for yourself. And you know the old saying, nothing worth it comes easy. And the beauty of this is that it will help with other areas of your life as well. Try it, and watch the decisiveness start to rear its beautiful self. Don’t forget to be gentle with yourself. Give yourself a break. You are human, and you are learning and growing every day! 😊

4. Ask Yourself the Hard Questions.

This can be quite hard, pun intended. It is necessary to dig deep and ask yourself the difficult questions. This type of self-introspection will help with the decision. For me, I ask myself if the decision will help me to be in a better place mentally, spiritually, and physically. Also, I ask myself if this aligns with my goals. These seem obvious, but a lot of the time, we really don’t go in-depth about what we need but rather what we want. It is easier to convince ourselves of the easier way out rather than put the time and energy into a decision. Now, this is not about making the perfect decision. However, each decision we make string together a bunch of decisions that lead us down the path to our best selves. You are worth the time and energy to live a life that you are proud of and that you chose. Taking this time for yourself will be so worth it! 😊

5. Do Nothing.

Yes, literally do nothing. Put aside the decision and keep living, keep moving forward. Now don’t put it off for too long. But sometimes the best thing you can do is nothing. For me, I will pick a certain amount of days or date, and I will revisit the decision then. So that way, I have a plan to go back to the decision, but in the meantime, I focus on living. It is difficult to do as I am human, and it is in the back of my mind. But I try to do my best and not think about it. When I do this, I find that the answers are in the little things. This can include something that I experienced in that time frame or just clarity that popped into my head when I least expected it. For instance, have you ever tried remembering a name of a movie or a title of a book and you can’t for the life of you remember it. But the minute you start doing other things, it pops into your head. That is what happens a lot of times when you are dealing with having to make big decisions. So, do the soul-searching, but don’t forget to keep on living in the meantime! 😊