My Name is Arliene, and I am Indecisive…
When I sat down to write this blog post, I had a number of different topics in mind for what I wanted to write about and started three different posts. Sitting and trying to figure out what I actually wanted to write about made me realize how indecisive I am when it comes to anything personal or professional. I am never able to just say yes to something right away.
When I was little and people used to ask me what my favorite color was, I would tell them every single color that came to mind — I could never choose just one. The same thing is true when going to a restaurant and trying to decide what I want to eat. I’ll go back and forth between 5 different options and won’t know what to choose until the waiter comes to the table and I end up randomly picking one. (The Cheesecake Factory is not a good place for me to go, as their menu is 10 pages long ☺)
I’ve realized I have the same tendencies when it comes to my professional career. If there are multiple ways to go about a specific situation, I’m someone who will go back and forth, ultimately afraid to pull the trigger and make that final decision. Knowing I might have chosen the wrong thing is my biggest fear. But I’m trying to embrace our “Fail Fast Fail Often” motto more and more — it’s okay if it doesn’t work out the first time.
To help make the decision-making process easier, I’m focused on the following:
1. Make a list
To help overcome that overwhelming feeling when you have multiple options. Writing everything down helps me see all the different possibilities and helps you narrow down your options
2. Evaluate pros and cons
Once I’ve come up with my list of possible options, I figure out the pros and cons of each to help pick the best option.
3. Prioritize
Take the pros and cons and figure the value of each of your options and what is most important to you about each of the different possibilities.
4. Go with your gut
Making a list and writing out the pros and cons is great, but it will only get you so far. When you have a strong feeling about one over the other, you just have to go with it. Even though you might not know why in the moment, it will usually be the right one in the end.
I just need to take everything one step at a time and learn to be okay with saying yes and going through with a decision. Don’t waver too much on the possible outcomes — just go with it.
