Should I stay or should I go? 🙈

Hello, dear reader/listener,

I recently had a chat with my friend Ruby about her work. She was feeling a bit stuck and frustrated with how a few things had turned out. She felt the inevitability of being stuck where she was and in a career she wasn’t sure represented her passions because:

a) She’d spent years training to get here.
b) She’d already moved firms once.
c) She needed to put her ‘Realistic Ruby’ head on and get on with it.

Maybe she does. But maybe she doesn’t.

How do we make decisions? Sometimes, I struggle to even choose what I want for dinner at a restaurant, often opting for something I know I’ll love because I’ve had it before and don’t want to be jealous of what my friend is eating. Some of us take the riskier road (like my friend who just got back from a remote overseas trip with a very upset tummy because he took the risk and tried everything). And that’s just food. What about important things like changing careers, buying a house, getting married, having another baby, doing more study, or setting up a business?

How on earth do we know whether to go for Realistic Ruby or Risky Ruby?

The truth is, nine times out of ten, most of us (for very valid reasons) go for Realistic Ruby. We take the path with less risk—and that’s no bad thing. We can’t just follow every whim and desire without weighing up the consequences. But what if there are times when it’s just the right moment to take the road less travelled? How do we know?

In this week’s pod, we dig deep into the art of decision-making. Among other things, we cover:

• Realistic vs. Risky Decisions

• Gauging the level of risk—why it’s important to work this out so that we don’t overemphasise or underestimate the challenges involved

• Some of the decisions I’ve made (and whether they’ve paid off or not)

• A foolproof way to help us know if it’s a yes or no

• What not to do when making a decision

• Why flipping a coin might actually be a really good idea

Whatever you feel about decision-making, it’s usually rooted in a lot more than just the current scenario. If we can figure out what it is that we’re afraid of and what it is that holds us back, we can safely determine whether it’s a legitimate concern or if we’re making our decisions based on the wrong foundation, such as someone else’s opinions or a false sense of obligation.

Here are some final thoughts for you to take into your day before I sign off:

1 quote: “What’s the worst that could happen?” ― Dr Pepper

1 stat: According to research by Psychological Bulletin, 60% of people are more likely to rely on intuitive or heuristic-based decision-making, while others may prefer more analytical and data-driven approaches.

1 question: How do you balance intuition and analytical thinking when making decisions? What do you lean towards?

Hope you enjoy the episode.

Love,

Hannah x

P.S. I just learned about a concept called ‘the anchor’. It’s taken from research by Tversky and Kahneman, who found that people often rely too heavily on the first piece of information they receive (the “anchor”) when making decisions. This effect can lead to skewed judgments and decisions based on initial information, even if it’s irrelevant. What’s the anchor in your current decision, and are you giving it too much weight?

P.P.S. If you want some help with decision-making and you’re ready for a new season, sign up for the waitlist for my coaching course—six weeks dedicated to helping busy women at a crossroads to find and take their next exciting steps. Starting mid-Sept.