Decisiveness=Freedom

Have you ever felt overwhelmed about making a decision? All too often, we feel pressured about the outcomes of our decisions. We worry about making the wrong decision and what would have happened if we’d chosen the alternative. Indecisiveness and anxiety about decisions come in all forms—you may hesitate in choosing an activity to do with friends or even what kind of coffee beans to buy.

We experience indecision everywhere. Think about the last time you went out to eat with friends or family. How long did it take to decide where to go? Who made the final decision? Was anybody upset about the decision?
Many people despise making decisions because they don’t want others to think poorly of it. While that’s understandable, the reality is that people prefer others to be decisive. It’s a quality that’s secretly desired by everyone.

What Happens When We’re Indecisive

Indecision may not seem like such a bad thing, and at times it isn’t! However, it can be damaging even without your awareness. When we’re indecisive, we’re letting fear overtake us because we don’t want to be wrong. In the end, we’re left with inaction—a loss of opportunity. You may find yourself in a situation where a quick decision would lead you to a new opportunity, experience, and even personal growth.

However, you may be hesitant to make the decision; you may worry about what will happen. Perhaps you think the unknown is too risky to be worth it. But that’s what life is about—taking risks, failing, and then overcoming those failures. When you make quick decisions, the payoff can be boundless.

Why We Need to Be More Decisive

Decisiveness allows us to open doors. Just like learning to say yes to challenges, making quick decisions is a powerful habit that should be sought after by all. When you become a more decisive person, you’re lending more trust to your future self. You’re saying, “okay, no matter what happens, I can overcome it.” On the other hand, when you beat around the bush and hesitate, you doubt yourself and your ability to adapt and overcome challenges.

What’s more, decisive people don’t feel as though they have to control everything. They’re okay with the unknown and with taking risks because risk leads to reward. Through decisiveness, you can enhance your self-image and self-confidence. You can improve your friendships and romantic relationships, and you can grow as an individual.

At its very core, decisiveness is self-care. People who can cultivate this skill gain confidence in their decision making, lose anxiety, and improve their outlook on life. They look at questions as opportunities for growth and knowledge.

How to Improve Decision Making

1.) First are foremost, you have to learn to let go of the fear of the unknown. Ruminating about the future and what may or may not happen only leads to disappointment. When we’re afraid to take a risk, we’re not acting in our best interest. In fact, failure is one of the most important precursors to successful and happy lives.

You have to fail to learn your abilities, passions, and dislikes. Practice making quick decisions, and if you fail, all the better!

2.) You must be ready to fail. Nobody makes the right decision 100% of the time. Even if someone always made the right decisions, it wouldn’t be beneficial. In fact, failure is one of the most important precursors to successful and happy lives. You have to fail to learn your abilities, passions, and dislikes. Practice making quick decisions, and if you fail, all the better!

If you’ve never experienced despair, how can you know what true joy is?

3.) Lastly, learn to live in harmony with the good and the bad. You can’t control everything in your life. Life is full of ups and downs. When you accept that life inherently has bad times, you won’t be afraid of making quick decisions. Maybe you make the wrong decision, and you lose a new job opportunity. That’s okay—more will come.

Life is best lived when it’s allowed to flow naturally, not constrained to overthinking. Becoming a decisive person will not happen overnight. But it also won’t happen until you learn to let go of control and fear.