Indecisiveness Never Wins
Imagine the last time you were driving and got lost. Try to envision the exact moment that you realized you didn’t know the right way. That realization that you should’ve paid closer attention to the directions that gas station attendant gave you instead of thinking about how cool it’d be to have a fuzzy pink car charger. Or something like that. You realize you can go right, you can go straight, or you can go left. And you have no clue which one will get you where you want to go. So you put it in park, turn off the car, and sit there. You thinking deeply and critically about your options, but do not actually move anywhere.
Crossroads are presented to us everyday — by the hundreds. To add to the complexity, we have tens-of-thousands of ‘gas station attendants’ screaming at us what the ‘right’ direction is in the forms of blog posts (yes, like this one), podcasts, influencers, and social media. And most of the directions seem in total opposition to each other. All too often, the decision fatigue makes fast friends with an innate sense FOMO and next thing we know we’re paralyzed.
This is a natural scenario for most, but the unfortunate part is that the people who most often get stuck — that turn off the car and sit — share some very similar qualities. They’re easily excited by multiple paths. They’re passionate about creating change exponentially greater than themselves. They’re eager to find their life’s true purpose and often their their work. And most importantly, they’ve been conditioned throughout life to make sure they choose wisely. These are qualities that have served them well throughout most of their life, but do not serve them well at crossroads. These are the types of folks the world needs more of right now, but unfortunately many are pulled over on the side of the road trying to make sure they choose the non-existent ‘right’ path.
There are many strong voices in the world, but at the end of the day most people you encounter are figuring it out just like you are. Don’t be fooled by their number of followers, deep research, or confident voice — they too are encountering crossroads and uncertainties about which path to take. We’re all human after all, and there’s no AAA guidebook for that. But their muscles for choosing one direction or another might be a little more developed. Often times, there are no right answers, only different directions to explore and they have developed the ability to lean into that.
So next time you’re at a crossroads and get lost, even with all the maps in the world by your side, just name it. “This is a moment of indecisiveness, and I know I freeze in these moments. Now is the time to choose one and keep moving.” Then drive.
Andy Hagerman is the Co-Founder and CEO at The Design Gym, a consultancy that empowers people inside of organizations to make things, break things, and create dramatically better ways to work. Through deep culture design consulting, interactive workshops, and our community of creative rebels, we help organizations put their people at the center of the innovation equation. Join us in bringing a sense of humanity back to the workplace at thedesigngym.com or @thedesigngym. He can be reached directly at andy@thedesigngym.com
