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 Category :: Music |
Author :: Kavit Haria, The Musicians Coach  |
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| Article Title :: A Clouded Vision |
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To do or not to do? In one of Shakespeare's most popular
bloodbaths, the lead character Hamlet's tragic flaw was that he
could not make a decision and act upon it. Okay, the decision in
question revolved around whether he should murder his mother and
uncle in retaliation for his father's untimely death -- a real
pickle, no doubt. But Hamlet's inability to resolve his quandary
in an expedient manner culminated in the deaths of everyone
around him and placed him on the wrong end of a poisoned sword.
Most of us can relate to Hamlet's tendency to procrastinate when
we're faced with a decision. We weigh the pros and cons, we
analyze the costs versus the benefits, we visualize all possible
outcomes in our minds... and sometimes we still make lousy
decisions.
For many of us, our inability (or rather, unwillingness) to make
a decision quickly and follow through prevents us from getting
exactly where we want to go in our lives. Often, indecision and
subsequent procrastination are the results of feeling
overwhelmed by the sheer number of decisions we must make on a
daily basis (e.g., Do I need a new career? Should I stay in this
relationship? Do I want smooth or bits in my juice?)
The most common (and most dangerous) response to that feeling
pressure over having to make decisions is to withdraw from
making any decision at all. A variation of this response is to
take some sort of action, but on a task unrelated to the
specific challenge at hand.
Just as a computer has a finite amount of RAM to devote to the
tasks we give it, our brains can only deal with so much
information before we hit overload. The 'applications' we have
open in our brains (i.e., pending decisions) the more we can
expect our performance at work and our personal relationships to
suffer the consequences. Fortunately, there are solutions to
resolve our inability to decide and follow through with
intelligent actions.FONT>
In the moment of indecision, if we are willing to take the time
to slow down and shut ourselves up for a few moments, our
intuition WILL tell us what to do. We must believe that the
solution lies within us and can only be heard if we allow
ourselves to silence our internal chatter and listen to what our
instincts are telling us. Equally important, we must then act
promptly on our decision. The longer we wait to act, the greater
the chance that our inner voice will be drowned out by a chorus
of "should do's" and second guesses that will undermine our
ability to trust ourselves and make the choice we really wish to
make.
Let's keep this in mind this month (August is America's National
Speedy Decision Month after all) and just get our feet wet when
it comes to making our decisions. By remaining true to our gut
feelings - true to our SELVES, we can avoid the agony of
indecision, we take charge of our lives, we allow ourselves the
opportunity to be more effective in our personal and
professional lives, and our decisions will lead to outcomes even
better than we expected.
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