It’s not bad or unfair, it’s important.
How does your decision making process look? Are there any possibilities we actually do not have today? For me, this question is important because the vast number of possibilities is often linked to difficulties, that can arise quickly. Too many possibilities create too many scenarios and outlooks in my mind.
After my graduation, I faced the decision on how to start off into my adult life. There were innumerable jobs and apprenticeships, as well as the opportunity to continue studying. And of course I wanted to do a trip abroad as well. At the tender age of 18 I had too many choices. I felt overwhelmed.
So how did I make a decision? Actually I didn’t. I was in some sort of Han Solo Carbonite Prison. It was better not to make a decision. The decision can wait. After some time, an ever-increasing concern spread within me. I had to do something. But it would feel less as a conscious decision, but rather adapting myself to the circumstances. The difference here is that I was more or less forced to make a decision out of a personal circumstance. But that’s not the point. Even tough it worked out for me in the end, I believe we should consciously deal with things and then make a valid decision. A decision that is not the result of an external compulsion, but one that we have made freely and independently.
Why I think we need to work on this again
That brings us back to the beginning. The possibilities. Because we feel permanently overwhelmed, it is easier for many people to avoid conscious decisions. Our very comfortable life still supports this process. We don’t even have to get up anymore to avoid decisions. Our smartphone does that for us. We can just close the window in the browser or turn on a night mode and are no longer available for anyone. If I compare my decision-making power with that of my parents how bought their first flat in their mid-twenties and I am already overwhelmed by the choice of the restaurant. Who can blame me, the pizza tastes good at three different restaurants.
Many opinions hardly support decisions
If we have personal news today, people in our close circle will know within two hours. A few hundred will follow, if the news is shared in a social network. Of course, everyone forms an opinion immediately and shares it. We get into a collective mass of feedback. And we tend to include it in our decision-making process. What I want to express is that, social exchange and the possibility to be constantly connected with your loved ones is something really wonderful. Nevertheless, we should be aware that actions and decisions will in most cases influence us and are important to ourselves, not to others.
I know that many decisions are not always astonishing or impressive. They belong to us. We learn from them. We’ll do better next time.
Let’s all be a little more decision-makers instead of postponers.
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