Indecision
At bakeries, I can't decide whether I want a croissant or a cupcake.
At school, I can't decide on a topic for a blog post.
And at home, I can't decide on a school to attend for the next four years.
And at home, I can't decide on a school to attend for the next four years.
Indecision plagues my daily existence but I've finally made the decision to end it. In an attempt to improve my dealings with daily decisions I have decided to analyze the benefits and disadvantages of indecision as well as compile some ideas about how to be more decisive.
What's so bad about indecision anyway?
Right off the top of my head, I can think of three great excuses for being indecisive.
Being indecisive gives my brain extra time to sift through the pros, cons, and in-betweens of a decision.
All that time allows me to really understand all aspects of a situation and envision several different outcomes or reasonings for an eventual decision.
All that time allows me to really understand all aspects of a situation and envision several different outcomes or reasonings for an eventual decision.
Another benefit of being indecisive is that I can take into account people's opinions. Rather than immediately bolting for a chocolate cupcake I'm able to stop and think about what the person I'm with
might want from the bakery or how we could optimize the situation so that we can both get different things to share and try (chocolate cupcake for me and lemon bar for you).
Also, when a decision does come easily to me I know that it must be something important since I didn't have to take my time with it like I do with everything else.
Overall, indecision gives me the ability to be contemplative about my life and fully examine everything that happens.
Make a decision right now (to keep reading)
So all of those reasons sound pretty convincing, right? It's not as if indecisiveness is the worst character
trait, but it's also not the best. Most of the time I over-analyze things to the point where I am so
overwhelmed that I feel stuck and eventually opportunities pass me by.
trait, but it's also not the best. Most of the time I over-analyze things to the point where I am so
overwhelmed that I feel stuck and eventually opportunities pass me by.
So... here are some of the most helpful tips I've discovered for making decisions quickly and effectively.
Go with your gut feeling
This one seems simple enough but is easy to ignore (how many of us have changed an answer on a test
only to find our first answer was perfect?). All of your previous experiences will give you a good idea of
the outcome of your decision. Trust your natural instinct!
only to find our first answer was perfect?). All of your previous experiences will give you a good idea of
the outcome of your decision. Trust your natural instinct!
Imagine the outcomes
This idea comes from Steve Griggs (some CEO guy I found on the interwebs). He recommends envisioning the best and worst possible scenarios for the situation. If you can live with either outcome, say yes! If not, walk away. It's that easy. Sometimes just taking a peek
into a possible future is all you need to make a positive change for the present.
into a possible future is all you need to make a positive change for the present.
Give up on perfection
This one is the hardest for me to implement because I'm constantly striving to be the best. Unfortunately,
or maybe, fortunately, nothing is ever going to be perfect. Once we give up on that unattainable idea that
somehow nothing will ever go wrong, we're free to take risks and make mistakes without feeling bad.
or maybe, fortunately, nothing is ever going to be perfect. Once we give up on that unattainable idea that
somehow nothing will ever go wrong, we're free to take risks and make mistakes without feeling bad.
What about you? Do you struggle with making decisions or are you extremely decisive?
Share any tips you might have in the comments and make sure to check back next week for more!
Share any tips you might have in the comments and make sure to check back next week for more!
I like your beginning. It flows nicely and is full of good imagery that makes it easy to read. Your topic overall is really interesting and relatable. Your images fit nicely and I like how you offer advice in the end with tangible research. One thing that I would suggest is maybe combining some of the paragraphs at the beginning/ middle to make your piece flow better.
ReplyDeleteI like how your writing is conversational and how there is a tone to it. I also like the quotes you used in the between your writing because it watches your writing. I would like to put some paragraphs together because it will sound much better and look so much better because some paragraphs do not have to be separated.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy the way you started your piece, it really pulled me in and the images are really clever. I like the advice you give about indecisiveness because personally I have trouble deciding what to do, even with the simple things. Now I can think of the tips whenever I am faced with a tough situation. I think your organization was done nicely but I would've liked to see the subtopics in bold just because I like when the titles of each section stand out more. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed reading through your piece and it kept me intrigued!
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you made comments throughout to make sure the readers stayed hooked, I think it made your piece come alive. I absolutely loved how well your piece flowed, and I enjoyed reading the entire blog. I think you did a nice job on your beginning, very well throughout! Overall, you did a very good job of keeping the readers want to keep reading, and I found your piece very interesting; I can't wait to read more. I would like to see better organization so your piece can flow even better!
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you tied tips on this topic for your reader and I liked the beginning of how you gave some scenarios of your life that was related to what your topic was. Overall, the whole piece got me hooked with the beautiful imagery but I think you should fix some parts so it could maybe flow a bit better. The whole piece was very interesting to read!
ReplyDeleteI like how you joke with the reader and ask them to keep reading when it's definitely not necessary. For me, the topic was very easy to relate to and kept me interested. Probably because we all want everything to work out. Maybe not ourselves sometimes but we want things to go our way and thinking about the benefits and consequences of being indecisive can help us determine what we truly want to do.
ReplyDeleteFinally, a post that can tell me how to feel about my indecisiveness (I couldn't make a decision about it before). It feels great to read about the positives of being indecisive, rather than being told that the fact I'm indecisive sucks. Your tips for making decisions are also very helpful!
ReplyDelete