May 10
Working Your Decision Making Muscle
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Did you know that you make over 35,000 decisions per day?
From what to do, what to wear, what to eat, to making big decisions that impact your daily life, your future, and the important people that are part of your tribe.
Deciding to read this was a decision that you just made (and thank you for choosing to read this post)!
So what happens when you feel stuck and can’t seem to make any decisions?
Being in this lack of decision making state may look like this:
“If I choose this, then this may happen, which means this outcome, leading to this possibility.”
Then you decide to put off the decision because you need more time to think, more time to analyze and research, seek opinions from five other people, then begin the worry cycle of the ‘what ifs’ – what if I make the wrong decision!
When you choose not to make a decision, you are thinking you are still in the safe zone. That is, if you don’t decide, then there are no consequences of the dreaded wrong decision. While this may sound counter intuitive, staying in this place actually consumes more mental energy. It creates anxiety and overwhelm because you are constantly thinking about whether you should make the decision or not and playing out every possible scenario in your mind.
Are you exhausted yet?
I was caught in this vicious cycle of delaying all decision making. From big to small decisions – I would belabor the possibilities and outcomes to the point where I couldn’t produce any rational thoughts or conclusions. I would put things off and wait until the last minute to execute the plan.
The amount of time and energy I expended meticulously picking out my outfits for work trips and vacations to selecting the exact words I would use in my presentations was killing my mental energy. Which left me feeling spent, frustrated, and ridden with guilt that I wasted so much of my precious time and energy on decisions that ultimately didn’t matter in the overall flow of my day.
I knew I wanted to change this cycle.
This is what I decided to do (no pun intended)…..
I started making snap decisions about the little things throughout my day.
Snap decisions happen in the moment without any overthinking or delayed response or action.
Examples of some snap decisions:
- Coffee vs more water
- Boots or sandals
- Rice or potatoes
- Training tomorrow or Friday
- Reply now or later
- Text or phone call
- Walk the dog or keep working in flow state
- Yoga or HIIT
- Take out or go out
- Wine or seltzer
- Kids on bus or bring to school
- Write blog post or social media
- Book or Netflix
- Facebook or email
The list goes on and it also means making decisions in the present moment without worrying about the outcome. These innocuous decisions aren’t really going to make a drastic difference in my day, however they will build on one another because regardless of the matter, there is action – right, wrong, good or bad. A positive hidden outcome – more confidence. Especially when it comes to the big daddy’s that do require thought and foresight.
For making these decisions, I use the following steps to keep me moving forward:
#1) Write down the decision you need to make. When you write it out on paper, you are already taking action (getting it out of your head) and directing your brain that you are going to take action (or perhaps inaction).
#2) Commit to the decision. Ask yourself why am I making this decision? How is my life (or someone else’s life) going to improve or change? Is this what I want and WHY do I want this to happen?
#3) Tell yourself you can do it. Don’t skip this step. Tell yourself, I am capable of making decisions. I am confident that I can do this. There are no cant’s in this…none period.
#4) Move forward with intention on wanting the outcome. Visualize yourself making the decision and who you are being in the moment. How do you want to show up? What are you doing? Who is involved? IF you are afraid of making the decision, ask what is the best case scenario, what is the worst?
#5) Stop worrying about the what ifs and start thinking about the possibilities that will open up for you because you have freed up space in your mind to create more of what you want.
It’s that easy. Taking action is the easy part, the build up to making the decision, especially if you are in a continuous state of indecision is more grueling than making the decision itself.
Looking to create more in your day, perhaps more time because you are a decision making ninja?
Check out my FREE Create More Time Tool!
Get out of your head and take action. You will be so happy, even if it’s not the best decision you made. It’s the point that you took charge and this is what builds confidence my beautiful friends.
Cheers,Alexis PS – if you are looking for more mindset and wellness tips throughout the week, Latitude Wellness is on social and sharing all kinds of light and love! FacebookInstagram