Indecisiveness and Self-doubt

When faced with the dilemma of having to make a choice, some of us will take a few minutes to ponder the pros and cons before making an informed decision and then jump into the abyss. Others will feel like they are tight to a pole and must pick a method of torture, picturing themselves in pain, no matter what they decide.

Decision-making, specially career-wise decisions, could become an excruciating process. The fear of failing takes over any logical path our brain might be able to come up with when considering the information we have gathered. What may seem a no-brainer to others appears like an Egyptian hieroglyphic to us.

The perceived need to control our future varies in degrees among people. High need to control correlates with a higher difficulty making decisions. Perfectionism, fear of failure or disappointment (our own or others’), or perceived need to avoid pain at all costs , among others, could lead us to freeze in the absence of complete reassurance that our choice is the right one. The truth is that we don’t know what will happen in the future, no matter how hard we try. Acceptance of that truth is the key to an easier decision-making process.