Background
Situation
I’ve been struggling with decision-making for a long time, largely because of my perfectionistic tendencies and my desire to control every variable—even those outside my scope.
I try to optimize everything (often with incomplete information), and when I inevitably can’t, I blame myself harshly and fall into regret.
On top of that, I’ve been obsessed with making the “most optimal” choice. As a result, I often strategically delay decisions, believing more time will help me gather more information. Sometimes it works. But for many small, low-stakes decisions that should be made quickly, I end up overthinking and over-analyzing. That leaves me feeling constantly “up in the air,” which is painful for someone who craves clarity and certainty.
Task
My career coach, Zachary, introduced me to the idea of Making the Right Decision vs. Making the Decision Right.
It shifts the focus from endlessly researching to ensure the right choice, toward taking action to make the chosen path work.
I’m still learning to internalize this mindset, but remembering it helps me relax whenever I feel myself sinking into analysis paralysis again.
Action
To train my “decision-making muscle,” Zachary and I started an ongoing assignment:
Every week, I record one decision — big or small— and reflect on how I made it and how I feel about the outcome.
I’ve been doing this for four weeks now, and I’ve noticed a shift: the decisions I write about are becoming less trivial and more meaningful. It feels as if life is gradually giving me bigger challenges, but also preparing me to handle them.
Result
Ongoing…
Journals
list from #decision-making-practice