Introduction
Is there something important or meaningful you want to get done but are struggling to take action?
How often do you find yourself needing to get something done, find yourself get distracted by something random, and just end up never making any progress on your goal?
Just…can’t…decide…
Indecisiveness is a productivity killer.
If you want to reach your goals, you have to take action on them. But before you can take action, you have to decide to take action.
But I get it, making important life decisions are complex and complicated. You don’t want to be rushed because you want to weigh your options before diving in.
And I get that, but maybe the problem is that you have choices.
Maybe the choices are causing you to become indecisive, which leads you to take less action and make less progress.
You’re like the lion at the circus
Have you ever been to a circus? (Me neither coz I’m deathly afraid of clowns.) Oh, and I also don’t like the way the animals are treated…but mostly because of clowns.
(Anyways, I got off topic.)
A circus isn’t completely without a lion taming act where the lion is standing on a box and the lion tamer bravely fights the lion with a whip and a…chair.
Have you ever wondered why a lion tamer holds a chair?
Why not a stick or a lightsaber…honestly, anything but a chair. I mean, what good is a chair in this situation?
The whip I can understand, but the chair is worthless…or so I thought. The truth is, the whip is just there for show – the chair does all the work.
When the lion tamer holds a chair in front of the lion’s face, the lion tries to focus on all four legs of the chair at the same time. What this does is confuse the lion and causes the lion to become indecisive about it’s next move (sound familiar?).
With so many options, the lion just freezes instead of attack the lion tamer. The king of the jungle becomes a kitten…all because of 4 legs on a chair.
Do you feel like the lion sometimes – constantly having a f-ing chair waved in front of your face?
Do you try to focus on all the choices in front of your face and end up sitting pretty like the lion?
The best way to overcome indecision
FOCUS ON ONE THING
While the world tries to tame you, remind them you’re the king of the jungle! All you have to do is focus on one thing and commit to it.
Find one thing you can focus on, and commit to it.
bctt tweet=”Commit to one thing and do it – even if you don’t feel ready.” username=”yochillpill”]
Stop looking at all the shiny stuff. Instead, lock in and commit.
Indecisiveness is a real pain for a lot of people, and they cope with it through procrastination and put off the decision. But once you’re able to get the decision out of the way, the focusing part goes a lot smoother.
Don’t sweat making the absolute 100% right decision. Don’t try to be a perfectionist — it just stresses you out because it overwhelms your brain. All of this stress causes you to feel like you’re out of control.
In other words, gathering the additional information to be “perfect” comes at a cost. You’re better off setting a criteria for the decision in advance, gathering that information, making a decision, and moving on.
If you’re really struggling with making a decision, just ask yourself, “What advice would I give to someone else in this situation?”
This is known as “taking the outside perspective,” and by thinking about how you would help others is often the best way to help yourself. By taking the outside perspective, you block out your emotions that are clouding your decision (or lack of one).
If you really can’t make a decision then flip a coin.
If you’re really struggling, then it’s probably your gut telling you that this decision isn’t really that important to you OR your choices aren’t great.
So save yourself the headache and just flip a coin and move on.
Where to go from here
“Indecision is often worse than wrong action.”
– Henry Ford
You have the ability to make positive change in your life – you just need to make the decisions that direct you down the right path. Instead of having your attention divided on the chair like the lion, you need to learn to commit to a task and take action.
You have a place you want to go, things you want to achieve, a person you want to be…, so start making the decisions that will make this happen. Don’t wrong about making a false move or making a decision you’ll regret. There’s no such thing as the wrong decision.
Well, actually, I take that back – there is ONE wrong decision: no decision.
Stop staring at the chair – you are a lion, so swipe the chair out of your face and let the world hear you roar!
Thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed this, make the decision right now to share it with someone!