Decisions are Hard to Come By

I read a wonderfully refreshing post on Avis's blog: Avie Designs about decision-making. Avis had read a post from Seth's blog about the same topic. The gist of it is: We as people need to make more decisions. It doesn't matter if we end up making a bad decision, the point is to make them. We can ultimately decide not to make any decisions, as that is a decision in and of itself, but it's not exactly the best way to go about things.

This unexpected pearl of wisdom couldn't have come at a better time. Life after graduation is a tough one and one that I am feeling each and every day. I am someone who likes a clean slate and after so many years of routinized and scheduled behavior, it's nice to take some time off to get organized. Running errands. Checking off to-do lists. Getting rid of the piles of junk I've accumulated over time. Applying for volunteering positions, fellowships, internships, and job applications. Cleaning out my computers. Putting things away. The little things really matter and, at this moment in time, I need a more minimalist way of life. I can't move on until I've achieved some semblance of that. But that's just one side to the story. The other side is my fear that I will fail at whatever I end up doing, either because I'm bad at holding down a job or I'm bad at finding the jobs that I will actually enjoy and want to put effort into. I realize I have many years to go before I find that perfect job that will keep me in my seat. But... envisioning that is scary.

After reading these posts about decision-making, I realize it's okay to fail. Failing is one of the best ways to learn and failing is a great indicator for what I'm clearly not meant to do. It's not the way I want to figure out what I'm good at, but at least it narrows the search field. So, starting today, I will make a decision -- any decision -- and move forward with it. Then I'll make another decision and another until I've reached a happy medium.

What are you waiting for? Decide!