Summary from article entitled “Deciding Factors:  How to Make Up Your Mind”, from the WASHINGTON POST, 10/28/03 C-9 by Judy Colbert:

Ms. Colbert sites an example of how a person made an employment decision by consulting a personal coach.  “Not everyone has the finances or the desire to hire a personal coach, but almost everyone faces a mind-numbing decision at least once in a lifetime.   Rachna D. Jain, a psychologist, says the biggest problem faced by most of us is not the decision itself but rather the process and the feeling that any decision we make is irrevocable so; we therefore, opt out of making the decision at all.  Andrew Sanderbeck, a personal coach out of St. Petersburg, Fl states “people won’t make a decision until it’s too painful not to.”

Authors Denise Berard and Noah St. John say that most people fall into one of the below categories:

The “Ostrich Syndrome” – “ignorance is bliss”, so we put off making a decision until it is too late and the decision is made for us

Perfectionism – making the right decision is not always easily done – so we don’t make any decision – until it is too late and the decision is made for us.

Fear – We don’t want to make the wrong decision – the underlying problem in the above categories.

People are basically afraid of stepping out of their comfort zone and so they don’t until they are forced to and then it is really painful!

You make decisions in 2 ways.  1) You do a lot of research and ask everyone you know for their opinion or 2) you follow your gut instinct.

LEAVE THE FEAR BEHIND  is the suggestion.

Make a list of what needs to be done and just blindly follow the list.  Before you know it, you have accomplished your goal and forgotten about your fear.

“Remember that a decision will be made.  Your choice is to make it or let someone else or circumstances make it for you. . . life’s most difficult decisions deal with the issues that are most important to us-our financial or emotional security…”