#308 – How do you know your decision was right?

Decision-making has become a science.

According to my Claude.ai assistant, 5,000 to 7,000 books were published, around 90 TED Talks were given, and 500 to 700 formal courses exist on the subject.

I don't know what these sources say about making the right decision, and I don't care. Why? Because making a decision is not a matter of reason, but of feeling.

Two days ago, as I pondered whether or not to quit my retail job, I wasn't listing all the pros and cons––I'd already done that and it was useless.

I was looking for an inner experience, a nudge coming not from my head but from my whole body––starting in the gut.

Pros-and-cons lists connect you with your head, where you'll only find your Ego and the Ghosts.

They'll ponder things like, "which job pays more?" "Will you gain or lose status if you move to that city?" "What will your neighbors/family/former colleagues think when you leave your job?"

Because they focus on the outcome, making the mistake many people make: to conflate the outcome with the act of deciding.

But the outcome you thought was good may turn out to be bad. A high-paying job may seem good. But if you then become so stressed that you lose your health, was it good or bad?

So, no: the "rightness" of a decision doesn't mean it led to the right outcome.

What matters is that it feels right in the moment, even if it seems to make no logical sense––because neither the future or the past exist.

Signs of right decision:

• You don't need to list the reasons
• It seems to fill your body like warm, glowing oil––even if you later second-guess yourself (we know how insistent and pesky the Ego and the Ghosts are)
• You feel like a weight has lifted off your shoulders––even if you're "scared" of the consequences (again, Ego & Ghosts)
• The world seems to come into focus and colors become brighter
• You smile

What seemingly irrational decisions led you to your biggest leaps in life?

Love,

Carolina