"Have you ever had to make one of those decisions in life where you know that 20 years from now you will either look back happy or look back in regret?"
A friend of mine posted this on his Facebook wall. It's a question I get asked a lot by friends and clients.
Here are some of the bits of advice that I share most often about how to make decisions when you become stuck in over-analyzing your options.
Random
When you cannot choose between multiple options:
Pick a direction, any direction -- even if it's at random -- and begin moving in that direction. If it's wrong, the Universe will throw up really obvious roadblocks.
Staying still never flushes the birds out of the bush, but even the wrong decision will scare things into the light.
If you really screwed up, you'll know it pretty quickly and you can course-correct.
If you made the right choice, the path tends to continue unfolding before you.
Neither
When you cannot choose between two options:
If you're truly stuck between Door #1 and Door #2 -- like, you can make an argument Either/Or and it's a dead tie -- your best answer is usually... Door #3.
When you're perfectly stuck between two seemingly equal options, the answer is usually Neither. There's a third option you haven't considered or that has not presented itself yet.
I can't say this always proves to be true -- but I find it to be the right approach more oftentimes than not. Even just considering that there might be a third option is enough to interrupt the analysis paralysis, to inspire you to back away from forcing a decision that doesn't want to be forced.
The Emotional Body Having made a choice, how do you feel?
Your body will provide confirmation of your decision -- if not immediately, then after a sort of "emotional trial period."
Do you feel relieved? That's usually the best sign that you've made the right choice.
The body is one of the most accurate divination tools you have -- you might augment this ability through the use of a pendulum or muscle testing.
image credit Mariano Kamp via Creative Commons on Flickr