Leaving Insecurity Behind: Overcoming Indecisiveness

Everyday there are millions of decisions being made around the world. Whether it is an executive decision in government, the Board Room of a company or organisation or in homes and clubs, decisions are made, some with lasting effects. A similar amount of decisions are not made because those to make them are wary of making decisions for one reason or another.

The root of the issue has several offshoots:

1. Immaturity - one is unable to form thoughts or opinions without the guidance of others. This causes your decision-making ability to become underdeveloped.

    

2. Lack of self-confidence – lack of confidence in your own intelligence or ability can lead to indecisiveness.

    

3. Low self-esteem – the belief that we have nothing to offer paralyses your decision-making ability as you are more susceptible to be pressured to making the decision by someone as you are seeking that person’s affirmation.

    

4. Fear – Several fears such as fear of judgement of others, failure, change brought on by success among others can cause one to delay or derail decision-making.

Indecisiveness can be overcome once you realise the root of your inability to make a decision. The suggestions below should get you started on your road to developing your decision making ability.

1. Address the root of your indecisiveness - whether fear, immaturity or otherwise the issue has to be remedied if you are to develop and sustain the ability to make decisions.
   

2. Trust your intuition – once you have dealt with these issues you should over time develop the confidence in your own instincts. Because you would have been ignoring it for some time, it may be hard to hear what it says, but it is essential to develop your intuition as one’s instincts are important in the decision-making process.
   

3. Consider all the consequences of the options presented – consider the positive and negative effects of the decision to be made. Consider what it would be like to live with the choice you have made.
   

4. Gather information – if possible gather any information to become confident to make the choice one way or the other.
   

5. Make a choice and stick by it – make the decision one way or another and implement it. If you make a mistake, learn from it, make any need adjustments to deal with the consequences and move on without berating yourself.

Making the first decision will be hard but worth the rewards. For one you will be less prone to regret for opportunities that you missed due to your indecisiveness. And it will build confidence in yourself and your ability to make other decisions.

I suffered with indecisiveness because growing up and into adulthood I was not allowed to make any real decisions on my own steam. But once I made that first decision, the confidence I gained from making that decision strengthened my self-esteem and ability to make future decisions. So take the first step today towards living a life of confidence, courage and decisiveness.