5 great things your indecision says about you

We’re surrounded by advice to start before we’re ready, push through the fear, and act on ideas quickly. So if you’re feeling uncertain and struggling to make up your mind about what to do next, it’s easy to feel deficient.

(Cue the negative self-talk…)

But when reasonable advice becomes so prolific that you feel surrounded, chances are high that groupthink has come into play. So let’s take a second look.

Maybe your indecision isn’t such a bad thing. Maybe, it’ll serve you really, really well in the long run….

Can’t decide what to do with your life … or even what to do next? Here are 5 ways that it can help you in the long run:

1) At least you recognize that you want change

Sometimes, realization is the most elusive step. But you’re already there. In the words of philosopher Eric Hoffer, “It is the awareness of unfulfilled desires which gives a nation the feeling that it has a mission and a destiny.” The same can be said of individuals. Unlike too many people that you probably know, you have the self-awareness to recognize that something’s not right and the desire to overcome that dissonance.

2) It shows that you’re open to possibilities

If you refrain from choosing an option because you tend to come up with new ideas or your ideas evolve with changing circumstances, you likely have a high level of creativity and openness. And those are two traits absolutely essential to companies that are struggling to innovate and remain relevant. Scientific American describes openness as “the drive for cognitive exploration of inner and outer experience,” and says it is the “personality trait most consistently associated with creativity.”

Besides, your first ideas are usually the most conventional, says Wharton professor Adam Grant in his book Originals: How Nonconformists Move the World. There’s nothing wrong – and a lot right – with stopping to consider the big world of possibilities out there rather than following along with what seems reasonable. Like the discoverers who said, “There might be something there beyond that ocean” despite prevailing wisdom, openness to possibilities is a trait of visionaries.

3) You’re thinking strategically

Even if your hesitancy is due to analysis rather than a constant influx of new ideas, it points to a useful skill: strategic thinking. “If this happens, then that would happen, and then either this or that, and if so then.…” It’s an important survival skill that just happens to be important in business, too.

While the chessboard analogy feels outdated in today’s business environment, strategy and anticipating the future will never go out of style. In the words of hockey star Wayne Gretzky, “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” In business (and life), the best players stay ahead of the competition.

4) You want to make informed decisions

There’s an important psychological term called “planning fallacy” which describes is a delusional optimism leading to poor decision making rather than a rational weighing of gains, losses and probabilities. You don’t want that. Information-gathering aids in the decision-making process, period. (Yes, too much information can lead to analysis paralysis, but that doesn’t mean we should throw the baby out with the bathwater.)

When the U.S. military tries to bridge the gap between a complex, ever-changing environment and actionable tactics for moving forward in that environment, they use a process called “operational design.” The key first step in that process? Develop a thorough understanding of all aspects of the surrounding environment.

5) Reflection and introspection are attributes of the gods

Too dramatic? Maybe. Let’s put it this way: experience teaches, but so does “the intentional attempt to synthesize, abstract and articulate the key lessons taught by experience.” (Otherwise known as reflection.) Reflecting on the world around us helps us process and retain information better, leading to better decisions.

Even when people are introspective, turning their gaze inward and reflecting upon their own tendencies, feelings and behaviors, it correlates to better consistency in planning and decision-making and increased business performance.

To tie this up, I’ll explain how this all relates to what I’ve been saying over the last month:

A few weeks ago I shared an impassioned story, imploring you not to wait another minute before acting on your dreams. In the following weeks, I talked about the biggest mindset shift necessary to take that leap. Then this week I thought, “But what about people that don’t quite know what they want to do?”

I deeply and wholeheartedly relate to your pain.

For years I struggled with a burning desire to DO … but little direction. It was heartbreaking. I felt like my life and potential were being wasted, and I hated myself for not being more decisive or having more self-understanding.

Today, my job is to help people in similar circumstances get into action … which is why many act surprised when I point out what’s so great about their indecision.

But hindsight and decades of education are beautiful things, and I’m simply telling you what I wish someone had told me:

The inclination towards indecision is grounded in wonderful traits that can serve you well in the future, so hold your head high.

Now I would really love to hear: What kinds of decisions are you struggling with? Which of the points to you most identify with? Let me know in the comments below.

Here’s to taking just the right amount of time to act,

Jenna

P.S. While it’s fantastic to recognize the positive traits that restrain impulsive decision-making, it goes without saying that your eventual success will require action. If you’re at the point where you’ve spent enough time on analysis and want to move forward, or simply need someone to hash through your ideas with, let’s hop on a call to see if it makes sense for us to work together.

Why you need clarity now, not later

There's this question I've been thinking a lot about. 

When you look back on your life, will you wish you had done more with it?

The topic is on my mind because I'm spending the last few days with my dad as his life winds to a close. In our home outside of Seattle, which used to be filled with the voices of all of my teenage friends, we're taking some quiet time to reflect. 

Dad spent over 30 years in the same job, not because it was what he should do but because it was what he loved. And now he feels fully content with a life well lived and ready to cross over to the next stage.

And that sense of satisfaction is, in a nutshell, what we should strive for – not tomorrow, but today – because life is so fleeting and so precious.

Not many of us have the fortune of knowing what we want to do early in life or finding a way to make a living with it. But too many of us let that stop us in our tracks.

‘Crash' Nash on a carrier somewhere in the Mediterranean, early 1970s

We settle for something that pays the bills but leaves us feeling empty, and tell ourselves one of three stories to justify the decision:

I don't know what I'm passionate about: I told myself this for years. It turns out that I did know, but I couldn't articulate it, I couldn't envision how to make money from it, and there were several other stories in my head that were blocking me from declaring it.

If you're in this position, run, don't walk, to get some help. Seek out somebody that focuses on clarity, somebody that understands how important it is for you now, rather than later. That's what I did, and it made all the difference. I just wish I had done it decades sooner.

(Regardless of whom you choose, make sure you've put some serious thought into these questions.)
 
I can't make big changes right now. I've got bills to pay / I'm tired / I'm too busy. 

The problem with saying, "I'll get to it tomorrow" is that tomorrow gets here really damn quickly. Big changes start with small baby steps, so you can still take daily consistent action towards a fulfilling vocation without burning the candle at both ends. (I've got a free guide on this subject if you'd like more detail.)* 

To paraphrase the great Stephen Covey, you might have more urgent things to do, but nothing is more important. 

Life is about being, not doing. Ohhh, this one really gets to me. I admire Eastern philosophy as much as the next person, but it's too often distorted by New Agey pop culture.

I've heard people claim that the true measure of a life is in the capacity for love, or how happy you felt, or how well you came to know yourself or God, or how kind you were…

Really?

Because I want more.

Each of those things is valuable and important, but they're just facets of what should be a complex existence. If I focus on just one, I won't be preparing myself to be content on my deathbed.

Because I'll also be asking myself: 

What did I do with my life? 
What did I contribute? 
What did I stand for? 
What did I fight for? 
Who did I help? 
Where did I gain mastery?
What did I create?
 
Because I want it all. I want what Dad had.

He showed me that it's possible, and because of him I never gave up trying to find it for myself. 

If there's any one tribute that I can think to pay him in his death, it's to sing the praises of his fun loving, country boy, find-what-you-love-and-do-it way of living. I hope it inspires you like it inspired me.

Here's to finding what's meaningful and doing it,
Jenna