When I am anxious about making a decision, my mind starts to whirl. I think about every potential outcome. I predict how I’ll feel in the future – will I have regrets? Will I miss out on an opportunity because I was short sighted? Impatient? Impulsive?
Sometimes I’ll see the advice of others. Occasionally, I’ll follow their advice.
But when it comes down to it, what I want is to be told by someone who “knows” that everything will be alright and I want to believe it.
I found that person. It’s me.
I’ve learned that whatever decisions I make, that everything will be alright. That doesn’t mean I’ll make the correct decision every time or that I’ll have no regrets.
It means that whatever decision I make doesn’t really matter at all.
I still have to remind myself about this at times. Last night, a good friend called me to talk about the job opportunity the I turned down last week. He spent an hour trying to convince me to give it further consideration. Because he works at this company and he is a trusted friend, I value his opinion.
He spoke about the company and its people. He talked about leaving a legacy and doing good in the community. He talked about the impact I could make if the company was really successful. He talked about our relationship. He talked about my history with other good people in the company.
I told him he gave me more to think about and that I would take a few days to reconsider.
I spent last night and most of today thinking about it. Mostly I thought about two things:
- Am I willing to have my work be my focus for 12+ hours a day and try to squeeze in life around it again?
- Will I regret not taking what appears to be a lucrative and personally rewarding job down the road due to financial or other reasons?
My answers are clear.
- No.
- Yes, I will have regrets if I run out of money down the road and am forced to take a crappy job.
I already have a plan for worst case scenarios, so I don’t worry about regrets too much.
And, I’ve already spent 34 years of my life focusing on work and money. I know what a work centered life entails. I’m not interested in doing that anymore. So, as long as I have a choice, I won’t.
I am choosing the life I have today over a life with more money.
While it seems like a big decision to me today, in the long run, it won’t matter to anyone at all.