How to Stop Being Indecisive

We all occasionally feel blocked before making certain decisions. However, some people perpetually experience this kind of problem. Here, we give some recommendations to avoid it from happening.

When you’re indecisive, you find yourself blocked by feelings of doubt whenever you’re faced with one or more options. In fact, being paralyzed by the influence of indecision means you’re unable to adopt a position consistent with your values, and what you want and yearn for at that particular moment.

The problem with indecision is that it prevents you from living. That’s because life is full of decisions. Every step you take, choice you make, and plan you put into action involve you having to make decisions.

So, if making decisions is a daily occurrence, why is it that it’s sometimes so difficult for you? Furthermore, what can you do to stop being so indecisive?

The difficulty of making decisions

Making important decisions is often difficult and complex. This is often because you don’t have all the information you’d like or the volume of it is so great that it’s really difficult to process it effectively. Thus, when you’re faced with possibilities that have multiple uncertain effects, your decision-making process is interrupted.

Deciding also means, to an extent, giving up. After all, when you choose an alternative, you give up on the other options. However, maybe you find it difficult to give up and let go, hence you experience paralyzing indecision. That’s because sometimes, decisions have consequences that you don’t want to miss out on. These circumstances make choosing an option difficult, and it takes time to do so.

There are also other important reasons that can make you indecisive. For example:

• Insecurity. You may know what you want to do but, by not trusting yourself, doubting your abilities, and feeling insecure about who you are, you end up stopping yourself from making a decision.
• Perfectionism. Being obsessed with making the perfect decision can make you indecisive because you don’t want to fail or be seen to be imperfect. This usually comes from being raised in a family where mistakes weren’t tolerated.
• Fear of responsibility. Sometimes, you avoid deciding because you don’t want to be responsible if things go wrong. Consequently, you let others decide for you, without realizing that you’re relinquishing control of your own life.
• External locus of control. By relying on factors to guide you in life, you let ‘fate’, the situation, or others decide. Therefore, you avoid deciding because you believe you have no control over your choice as you’ve delegated it to something or someone else.
• Being extremely sensitive. Highly sensitive people tend to suffer from big changes.

How do you make decisions?

You experience indecision problems when the process comes to a standstill, and you find yourself stuck in one of the following phases:

• Situational awareness. You’re facing a situation in which you need to make a decision.
• Establishing objectives. You’re trying to explain what you hope to achieve with your decision and how important the objective is to you.
• Gathering Information: You’re in the process of investigating to find out more information.
• Identifying options. You’re trying to recognize the alternatives that are available to you.
• Evaluating the options. You’re balancing the pros and cons, taking into account your own objectives.
• Choosing the preferred option. You’re trying to choose the best option based on your own evaluation.

This process can become extremely demanding and exhausting, making it increasingly difficult for you to make a decision. Therefore, you might try and delay it or avoid it as much as possible.

Tips to stop being indecisive

Here are some tips to help you stop being indecisive.

1. Set clear goals

You might be indecisive because you don’t know where you’re going, what you want, or what your goals are. However, if you don’t know what you ultimately want, you won’t know which medium will work for you and which won’t, and which decision is the most appropriate and which isn’t. Therefore, you must clarify your goals so that you know what decision to make at what time.

2. Let go of guilt

If you want to stop being indecisive, you must learn not to feel guilty about the consequences of your past decisions. That’s because the fear of failing and feeling guilty again can lead you to avoid making decisions.

Bear in mind that you can’t change the past. Instead, focus on what you can control and make a change now with your decisions.

3. Stop feeling insecure

Your indecision may be a clear sign of your insecurity. Therefore, you must work on your confidence and self-esteem.

Try to observe your flaws and weaknesses so that you recognize which of them makes you feel insecure when making a decision.

4. Regulate your perfectionism

If you’re a perfectionist, you’re likely to end up becoming indecisive. Indeed, an excess dose of perfectionism can make you doubt or distrust your decisions.

To overcome this attitude, try to see your situation from another perspective and take a step back from what you’re doing.

5. Believe in yourself

Feed your self-confidence. Lack of confidence goes hand in hand with the irrational belief that you’re not enough or that you don’t have what it takes to be successful in a particular task. Learn to accept yourself and believe in your abilities.

6. Stay away from toxic people

If your environment undermines your decisions, you may well end up being an indecisive person. Even more so if the opinion of others is important to you. However, bear in mind that many people around you might be toxic, so you need to take steps to restrict their influence.

7. Take responsibility for yourself

To stop being indecisive, you must give yourself the opportunity to make mistakes. Remember that it’s not always possible to choose the best option. Indeed, over time, you’ll realize that you sometimes make the worst decision. In fact, there’ll always be certain events that you have to accept before you’re able to sort them out.

It isn’t easy to stop being indecisive. However, the good news is that it’s possible. Going to a psychologist will help you identify the origin of your indecision. This is of paramount importance. That said, remember that all change requires time and persistence, so don’t get impatient if the transformation you expect takes a while.