The Cost of Indecision
Being indecisive is my toxic trait. Yep, I admit it. When it comes to choosing where to go for brunch or which brand of moisturiser to purchase, I have difficulty making up my mind. Decision fatigue is so real, and the plethora of options and conflicting information for every day decisions, make it harder to make choices.
Career moves, major purchases, life changes—those seem seemingly easier than the everyday choices we’re faced with. Especially when you have the tendency to second-guess yourself.
On the surface it might sound harmless, but let me tell you it can feel draining to spend so much mental energy on choices that are admittedly small in the grand picture of our lives.
The Illusion of Freedom
At first, indecisiveness can feel like keeping options open. Will I regret not choosing X? Is Y the better option? Why commit when the other options could work well too? The choices feel like freedom—until it doesn’t.
Here’s the truth, the longer you stay in decision limbo, the bigger and heavier the mental load becomes. What once felt exciting becomes a self-imposed cage of trade offs, comparisons and useless worries.
Paralysis by Analysis
Another bi-product of indecision is overanalysing everything. Every choice becomes a list of hypothetical scenarios: What if I choose wrong? What if there’s a better option I haven’t discovered yet? What will other people think of my decision?
There’s no productivity in perfectionism—it’s just fear and self doubt in disguise.
Which leads me to my next point.
The Cost of Inaction
Here’s the thing about decisions: not making one is a decision. And it often comes at a cost. Opportunities don’t wait for you to make up your mind. Your life doesn’t wait for you to choose. We have to realise that we can be living our lives instead of growing stagnant weighing pros and cons. Progress stalls when you’re stuck in the same spot.
By trying to avoid making the “wrong” choice, you can end up making no choice at all—which, ironically, can lead to the very outcome you were hoping to avoid.
Externalities
Being indecisive doesn’t just affect you; it affects the people around you. Whether it’s the person in the coffee queue behind you or your partner exhausted by your inability to pick a lunch spot, your hesitation can feel frustrating.
Indecision can also send the message that you don’t trust yourself—and begin a cycle of self doubt. And while others might be patient, that internal chatter of weighing up options, and wondering if they’ll approve, will make you further doubt your choices. Isn’t it far better to make a choice and live with the consequences?
What I’m focusing on to break the cycle
So, what’s the cure to indecisiveness? It’s not suddenly making reckless decisions (that would come with issues of its own). Instead, it’s about learning to trust yourself and take action, especially if the stakes of the decision outcomes are low. Here’s a simple framework I use, when I feel like I’m getting worked up by small choices.
1. Set a Deadline
I give myself a timeline for making decisions, big or small. Even if I’m tempted to waste time researching, by making a choice in a specific timeframe, I approach the choice as an experiment that I can learn from for next time.
2. Limit Decision Options
Research is great when you’re unsure of a product, but at some point it is counter-helpful. I work to narrow down my choices to two or three solid options and move on to pick one. When you keeping adding options to your radar, it becomes impossible to select one in case something better comes along. Narrowing down with a deadline helps me to narrow the choices and make decisions faster.
3. Focus on Values, Not Perfection
Instead of searching for the “perfect” choice, I focus on making the best choice with the information I have handy. Once I have my deadline, I’ve narrowed down, I can hone in on my values to make a final decision.
It’s all a work in progress, but having a framework to help you make decisions can protect your energy, save you time, and build your confidence to make better decisions next time.
