You don’t know what to have for dinner, whether you should date the person who seems perfect on paper, or whether or not you should quit your job. Making decisions is confusing for you most of the time. While people around you seem to know what they want and go for it, you’re stuck in a decision rut. Here’s what happens when you don’t just bite the bullet and go with your gut.
1. You overthink everything to the point that you lose sight of the real issue.
It’s a struggle to make decisions if you overthink every little detail. If you do this all the time, you could end up becoming paralyzed, not knowing how to move forward or what you’re actually trying to choose in the first place. It can help you to give yourself fewer options so you don’t get stuck by the dizzying array of potential paths in front of you.
2. Your FOMO becomes out of control.
If you always worry that you could be missing out on something better, this can make it difficult for you to make a choice and feel good about it since you’ll always wonder “maybe I should’ve…?” about the path you didn’t take. Unfortunately, this could cause you to miss out on something amazing as opportunities pass you by while you’re still trying to make a decision.
3. You’re terrified of making mistakes.
Chronic indecision can cause you to become scared to slip up and choose the wrong thing, but think about this: how bad can your decision be? As long as you’re not choosing to do anything dangerous or harmful to yourself or others, things will be okay. So what if things don’t work out? Life will go and you’ll be fine.
4. You become stressed and overwhelmed.
If you’re constantly mulling over options in your mind without ever making decisions, it’s only a matter of time before you become mentally and emotionally drained. If you’re truly struggling to figure out the best option, it could help to ask other people for their perspective. It takes some of the weight off your shoulders and gives you a bit of objective feedback, both of which will come in handy!
5. You turn into an unrealistic perfectionist.
You might become someone who refuses to live a life that’s anything less than perfection. It’s possible that this tendency is resulting from your inability to make your own decisions — you’re stuck on lofty expectations that will never pan out, and by holding off on solidifying your choices, you don’t have to confront just how unrealistic they are.
6. Your self-confidence plummets.
When you don’t trust yourself enough to make a decision, you start to doubt your ability to make good ones. The less empowered you feel to dictate the path of your own life, the harder it becomes to do so. It’s an endless cycle that can do a real number on your sense of self-worth.
7. You’re terrified of being judged.
If you’re always procrastinating on decisions you have to make, you might feel the pressure from other people. What do they really think? Do they see you as lazy because you’re not chasing down your dreams? It’s stressful and can keep you up at night. You might also feel judged when surrounded by your confident, go-getter friends.
8. You push commitment away.
Your lack of decision-making ability can cause you to get saddled with commitment issues. You avoid buying cell phone contracts or taking out loans, and you might also avoid serious relationships because you’re afraid to make decisions that tie you down. Anything that requires your full dedication freaks you out.
9. You play the “what if?” game too much.
When you don’t make decisions, you could torture yourself with “What if?” questions. What if you had made a decision? What if you’d chased down that awesome opportunity? You can do this to yourself all day, and it’s based on anxiety. Find healthy ways to deal with anxiety like practicing mindfulness. It just help you make decisions in the future.
10. You become down and depressed.
If you don’t make decisions, you’re not taking charge of your life. The result? You might feel like everything’s pointless or you don’t have the mental energy to deal with anything. Speaking to a therapist can help you deal with your depression symptoms so they don’t control your life.
11. You allow negative voices to take over.
Struggling to make decisions could cause you to encourage negative self-talk. Maybe you feel like a failure because you can’t make decisions, or you call yourself a loser. It just makes the situation worse and could lead to low self-esteem. You’re amazing — remind yourself of that daily.
12. You hit the brakes on life.
By avoiding decision-making, you might not realize that you’re deciding not to choose anything! Essentially, this means you’ll be floating along with the flow of life instead of stepping up and choosing your path. It might feel safer, but it’s actually dangerous. It means you’ll never be able to get what you want.
13. You ask other people to make decisions for you.
Maybe you want to leave your toxic relationship or change your career but you’re scared to take the leap. What you do instead is reach out to trusted friends for their opinions. While doing this is good to get objective feedback, relying on friends to tell you what to do is risky because you’re basically putting your future in other people’s hands.
14. You’re resistant to change.
Stalling on making big life decisions can lead to a fear of change. Hey, even a positive change can be unsettling because it takes you out of your comfort zone. Chronic indecisiveness is damaging in this way, and it can make you focus on your doubts and fears too much.
15. You’re piling up the regrets.
If you can’t seem to make decisions, you might end up with tons of regret. The sad thing is that you can’t go back and change them. Instead, you have to try to work through them and move on. There’s truth to the saying that you regret what you didn’t do more than what you did – it’s the worst kind of torture!
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