Settling In: Get Comfortable With The Decisions You Make
Hello Igniters!
Welcome back to the fortnightly Insight Igniter newsletter! In this issue I want to dive deeper into a topic that I previously explored in “The Price of Choice: Unpacking the Cost of Decisions”. When you make decisions, either on behalf of an organization or in your personal life, you may find yourself rumbling with a feeling of uncertainty, anxiety, or external pressures, which can make it challenging to feel fully comfortable with your choice. The core of this question offers space to pause and examine your emotions, fears, and motivations that might be hindering your ability to commit to a particular course of action.
Insight Igniter Coaching Question for October 7, 2024:
What Needs to Happen to Get Comfortable with Your Decision?
By examining emotional barriers, values and beliefs you can take agency of your choices, and gain a deeper understanding of your decision-making process, tendencies and identify specific steps that you can take to move forward with confidence.
As 2024 comes to an end, businesses leaders are faced with decisions that will impact their capital plans for next year. In my coaching practice I have witnessed firsthand the emotional conflict that arises for business leaders in this decision-making process. This is where clients can find value in this question – it supports business leaders in creating the emotional conditions that will allow them to feel confident and at ease with their choices. This conflict can manifest in a variety of ways, such as procrastination, indecision, or overthinking. To find comfort in your decision, it's essential to first understand the underlying reasons for your hesitation. Are you afraid of failure? Do you doubt your abilities? Being judged by your peers? Or are you simply worried about making the wrong choice and the negative consequences? Identifying these emotions can help you address them more effectively. By exploring what needs to happen to feel comfortable with their decision, leaders can identify the specific emotions that are holding them back and develop strategies to manage them.
The question "What needs to happen to be comfortable with your decision?" encourages clients to check in with their moral compass, diving deep into their values and belief system. The uneasiness we face in the decision-making process is because the outcome may compromise your integrity. Our values often influence how one navigates relationships, whether through honesty, loyalty, independence, or empathy. For example, if someone is deciding whether to commit to a relationship, the discomfort they feel might stem from a conflict between their value of independence and their desire for partnership. To feel comfortable with the decision, they might need to set clear boundaries that protect their independence while still allowing room for connection. In this way, the coaching question helps them reconcile seemingly opposing values, leading to a decision that honors both aspects of their value system. Similarly, if someone struggles with forgiveness in a relationship, they might need to examine their beliefs about trust and vulnerability. This process encourages a deeper understanding of the beliefs shaping their emotional responses, and can often lead to healing, growth, or a re-evaluation of the relationship.
Ultimately, the question “What needs to happen to get comfortable with your decision?” allows individuals to explore the intersection of their emotions, values and beliefs. The next time you are faced with an uncomfortable decision consider the following framework.
Acknowledge your feelings: It's okay to feel unsure or anxious.
Identify the root causes: Understand what's holding you back.
Build your action plan: Develop the actions you need to take. Weigh effort vs impact.
Trust your intuition: Listen to your gut feeling, but also consider logic.
Make a choice: Choose the path that aligns with your values and goals.
As you become self aware of your decision tendencies, you enable authentic decision-making practices in the face of complex decisions with greater clarity.
Until next time – Stay Ignited!
Best,
Stef