If you knew what to do, you would do it, right? How often do you deliberate all sorts of different scenarios and choices and feel that you remain stuck because you cannot make the “right” decision? You know that once the preference has been selected then everything will be okay and that you will feel in flow again. You will be a Gold-Medal winning elite action taking machine! Until then, you do not think that you can get on with things in quite the same way. The need to make a decision is gnawing away at you, clamouring for your attention, reminding you that you are not decisive enough, or confident enough or anything else enough (like your perfect colleague).
Welcome to being human! Coaching clients often present dilemmas which involve making choices about the best course of action. These can be about the big things in life such as changing careers (and countries), leaving relationships and starting new businesses or hobbies. More general challenges can present an impasse too, such as which marketing strategy to implement, whether to have a ‘difficult conversation’ with a direct report (or family member!) or how to plan their day to reflect brain-friendly peak performance to maximise their motivation and energy.
Therefore, having a powerful question in your armoury that would help make these decisions much faster, avoid the angst and decide the next step would be useful, yes? Drum roll … here it is:
Will this take me towards or away from where I want to go?
That’s it.
You can ask this question about e.g., whether to have that sweet treat, scroll through your device, go for a run, or adapt to fit the many situations at work. Listening to your response will help you to tune in to your intuition and to the feelings in your body so that the “right” choice will feel visceral to you.
Finally, as regular Brighter Thinkers will know, words matter so if the economical phrasing of my question does not resonate with you, how about this one from Debbie Ford:
Will this choice propel me toward an inspiring future, or will it keep me stuck in the past?
