How to Make Smart Decisions Without Overanalyzing Everything

Episode Transcription:

Welcome back to The Book Your Dream Clients podcast everyone. Today, I wanted to chat with you about how to make good decisions. Whether it's life decisions, business decisions, whatever is coming up for you and your life right now. 

I want to share a story with you, and I hope that maybe you can relate and that this episode is helpful. So sit back, relax and enjoy. When I was three, I landed myself in quite a predicament and my family still gives me grief about it. I've always been a bit of an indecisive person or overly analytical you might say. 

I think it's funny that I landed a career in analysis by the way. I've definitely gotten better with age, but when I was little, I could never make up my mind about anything. Many years ago, 35 years give or take, I found myself standing between two cars. One held my grandparents on my mom's side. And the other held my grandparents on my dad's side. I don't remember this at all, but this is the story I'm told. 

My predicament was to pick who I wanted to ride with. I don’t know where we were going or why. I was literally in the middle of two vehicles, but I had to make a choice. So I did what any three-year-old would do. And I started to cry, which then proceeded with me running back and forth between grandparents, completely overwhelmed with a decision before me. And I honestly don't even remember who I chose in the end. 

Decision-making can be so overwhelming, especially with things that really matter, right? For example, this past week I was shopping around for homeschool curriculum. I think that's something that homeschool moms do all of the time. And then when it gets to mid-summer, that is when they get serious. I started to feel super overwhelmed, exhausted. This is my second year going into homeschooling and I had a billion tabs open on my computer and my phone. I was comparing prices like a mad woman, and I was going down the rabbit hole of free printables galore.

It brought me back to when I was starting my coaching business years ago. I was doing the same things. Downloading a ton of free PDF’s, going to webinars like it was my full-time job and spinning my wheels going absolutely nowhere. It's exhausting, isn't it? I mean, how many times can I look at grade two science workbooks before I just make a decision already?

Why do we put ourselves in these situations? Because we're scared. We're scared that we might make a bad choice. We're scared that it won't work. We're scared of buyer's remorse, and we're scared of feeling. I can't be the only one who feels this way. 

So if you feel this way, I want to help you. I hope you're not feeling alone. And I don't think I am. How do you know if you're even overwhelmed in the first place? Yeah, sometimes we don't even recognize the signs. And I know I'm overwhelmed when I avoid the task at hand and I keep walking away from my desk. I'll walk away from my office. I'll go into the kitchen. I'll stare out the window and just drink a bunch of water. That's what I do. I know it's weird. That's what I do. I opened up an Amazon tap on my computer and I just randomly shop. I grabbed my phone when I'm supposed to be working, getting things done and mindlessly scroll. And my body will hurt. And I'm feeling off. I'm tired. I have a headache, my eyes hurt, etc., etc.

Can you relate to any of these? Congratulations, you're normal. Now how do you recover? It's simple. Acknowledge your feelings and know that whatever is coming up -  it's okay. You didn't do anything wrong. You're good. Pay attention to what's causing those symptoms though. 

Are you working too much? Taking on too many responsibilities? Rushing the process? Make the necessary changes immediately before symptoms manifest into something else. Did you lose faith in what you're doing? And you're looking for more spaghetti to throw at the wall? What have you stopped throwing and just allowed what you've worked so hard to build, to do its thing at its own pace. Wouldn’t that feel better? I'm saying all of this to you because I get this way too. You're definitely not alone. And it's just in our nature to always want more. 

Today I want to encourage you to trust in yourself. Trust in your first instinct. And don't be afraid to go against the norm. If that means doing things differently -  like homeschooling was my latest brave decision -  than everyone else, who cares? You know what's right for you. Make a conscious decision every second to follow your intuition.

It will never let you down my friends. Let me know what your thoughts are on this episode. If you have any questions or you would like to share with me your latest and bravest decision, I would love to hear about it. Send me a DM on Instagram and we can chat. I will see you in the next episode.

Before you go, I want to invite you to join my free Facebook group for coaches. Simply type ‘DreamClientCommunity.com’ in your browser, request access, and we will happily let you in. We have amazing coaches that are just like you who are starting and scaling their business and we would love to see you there.