Rule 2: If you can’t decide, choose change
(This post is part of a bigger list of rules that I have found helpful for thinking about a career, and beyond. See this post for an explainer).
It took me about 30 years to figure this out, but ever since I stumbled on it, I’ve found it applicable to any situation.
We need to make decisions every single day, and it seems that much of the career angst that befalls all of us from time to time is based on the fear that we could make the wrong decisions. Decisions are easy when the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages (or the other way around). When things get tricky is when the balance is not as clear, and when the lists of potential positives and negatives add up to roughly the same. The inability to make a decision is one of the most dreadful feelings.
Whenever I am in such a situation where I can’t decide because all options seem roughly equal, I choose the one that represents most change.
Here’s why: on a path that is dotted with making decisions, you are inevitably going to have regrets down the line. There are two possible types of regrets; in the first one, you regret a path not taken; in the second, you regret having taken a path. My philosophy is to avoid the “path not taken” regret. It’s the worse kind of regret. You will at times have regrets about having taken the wrong path — but at least you took the bloody path! It meant change, and it was probably exciting, at least for a while. Even if it turns out to have been the wrong decision, you’ve learned something new.
As far as we know, we only have this one life. Explore! Thus: when in doubt, choose change.