Feel Less Stressed By Becoming More Decisive
Hands up to the indecisive people out there!
Are you one of them reading my blog post? I could honestly say I was the most indecisive person you could meet. My favourite answer to a question with a choice was “Up to you”.
I said it so much the answer started to rub onto my circle of friends and we all would leave the answer in someone else’s hands! Was quite hilarious sometimes.
So why should you be the one to decide?
The idea is to have assertiveness in your answer and that’s a skill I’ve learnt over the years—to make a firm decision and go with it.
It’s difficult, especially if you’re conscious about what people think of you. You wonder about what they might say, think or feel and all these pessimistic thoughts start to takeover. You don’t want any friction in the relationship. So you become “fine” with whatever the outcome may be.
Not making decisions means leaving the choice in someone’s else’s hands. Indecisiveness can be a strain to both parties. You ever seen a couple “discuss” (I wanted to say fight) over what to eat?
“You decide tonight”
“I’m not sure what to eat, you decide”
Familiar?
When you apply this indecisiveness to your creative business so much more is at stake, your time, opportunities, money.
In the future, I want to run my own design studio so being the boss making decisions, is part of the role, while also having the courage to speak up.
Making Decisions Is Stressful
That’s one of the reasons why I hardly made them. When the time counts to make a life choice, stress would creep. To avoid “stress creep” I would lean on my answer “It’s up to you”.
But why at times, can decisions be super easy? It’s because the decision you make will be in your best interest.
“Should I get a haircut today?” Well hell yeah, I want to get a haircut today because I don’t want to look like a caveman. Easy decision.
It’s when the stakes are higher, the consequences are tougher do we crumble under the pressure to decide.
Decisions Force You To Move In A Direction
Take control, be assertive, be the man! And make decisions that will push you forward.
I see a lot of people avoid doing important tasks because it’s is too difficult, tedious etc. As a result, we push what we need to do aside and resort to an easier option (like watching Prison Break). We need to challenge ourselves more.
How do I become more decisive?
Use Your Gut Instinct
If you are struggling to make a decision, I like to use my gut reaction.
Immediately gauge how you feel when you pick an answer. If you feel your stomach turn, then that’s a clear sign, the decision is not the right one.
Using my gut to make decisions has unexpectedly worked in my favour this year.
I’ve found this gut instinct has relieved a lot of the stress when it comes to decision-making.
You stop thinking about the long term and you avoid worst case scenarios. Allow the gut feeling to surface, then asses the situation objectively. There’s definitely a whole load of science behind this but that’s way beyond my comprehension at the moment!
Being decisive has helped with my career thus far by being my own boss. It’s how I’m managing to write all these blog posts because I made the decision to make writing something I do. I’m not getting permission, I’m not leaving the my work in someone else’s hands. As a result, improvements are made and growth is seen.
I want to encourage others who feel they don’t need to take the lead, to be uncomfortable sometimes, be their own leader and make decisions that will propel you forward.
What’s worse, making the wrong choice? Or wishing you had made a choice several years to months from now?
Three Actions You Can Take Right Now
- As well as using your gut, trust yourself to act like this is the best decision right now.
- Take on more responsibility. The wrong decisions will help you grow just as much as the right ones.
- If you need more time to make a decision—say so. It’s okay to take your time and make an educated choice.