Throughout our lives, we are faced with a zillion decisions – maybe trillions of zillions of decisions. All day, every day, we are faced with decision after decision after decision. Some of these are easier than others – “what will I wear today” vs “what do I want to do with the rest of my life”, for example. With this plethora of decisions, especially the more complex ones, the question of “what if” can often show up and impact our decision-making process too.
For many, the “what if” factor can also be so overwhelming that it can stir up great fear in us that causes us to either become paralyzed into inaction, or can cause us to act on a whim and have regret as we look back. In life, we have the ability to make decisions in two different ways:
Fear-based
Conscious-based
For many of us, especially when that “what if” factor comes into play, our decisions are made out of fear which limits our potential and holds us back from greater satisfaction and happiness. Fear can become the controlling factor – whether we know it or not – and blocks us from connecting with the best us that we can be.
Whereas conscious-based decisions are connected to both our heads and our hearts. They are based on our ability to weigh certain factors, be aware of both our rational and emotion sides (aka our thoughts and feelings) which ultimately ties to our decisions (aka our actions). Thoughts = feelings = actions. They go hand in hand in hand.
So, what do we do when we have fear?
Ultimately, the ability to recognize the fear is the biggest and most important step. This includes asking ourselves:
What is my current thought?
How do I feel about that?
What actions (or inactions) am I taking?
Step two then is deciding what to do with it (yes, I know that is another decision).
What thought do I want to have?
What emotion do I want to have?
What actions do I want to take?
Deciding what to do with those initial thoughts, feelings and actions isn’t always an easy feat, but taking the time to really be thoughtful, mindful and intentional will pay dividends for us. The conscious thought is critical to our ability to really process, digest and move forward.
So, we need first to understand what is actually happening – and second, we need to assess what we really want.
But that isn’t always the easiest to do either – especially when the “what if’s” come to town. So, then what?
When in doubt, take a step.
Take a small, baby step forward and then explore your consciousness again – what are you thinking, feeling and acting on? Continue to explore, without permanency, and assess what is coming up for you. Feel it out and continue to explore. This is NOT fake it till you make it, this is exploration, curiosity and mindfulness.
And if you need support in any of this – whether it’s the initial awareness building – or in the connection to conscious thoughts, feelings and actions – WeInspireWe is here for you. Schedule your FREE Strategy Session today.