How To Make Hard Choices Easier
Many decisions in life are actually about choosing the lesser of two evils.
Unfortunately.
There’s not always a clear winner in every situation.
And, the decisions you must make, especially with your time, tend to be of the more complex variety.
You look at the options, and you think, “Well, none of these are great.”
And that’s why the decision is hard.
That’s why it’s unclear.
That’s why it’s frustrating.
And sometimes, that’s why you avoid it.
Let me give you some examples that show up for me and my coaching clients regularly:
Taking (disconnected) time off and coming back to a backlog of tasks and a mountain of email vs. continuing to work without rest, or working during your off-time, so you never really get any downtime
Spending the time it takes to maintain your task list vs. operating without one
Going to sleep with work undone vs. working too late and not getting enough sleep
Doing some end-of-day planning when all you want to do is be done for the day vs. waking up without a plan the next day
When thinking about the scenarios above, do you feel there’s a clear winner in each pair?
Probably not.
(And if you do, well, please share your secrets with me!)
On first glance, both options seem bad. And maybe they are.
Maybe this goes without saying, but if the answer were obvious or the discrepancy were bigger, then the path forward would be clearer.
But it’s not.
So it isn’t.
So, what to do?
Often, I think about this as “big pain vs. little pain”.
Both options are painful.
But which is less painful, even if slightly less?
For me, I know clearly, from the pairs above, which is the less painful option.
Because I’ve personally made the choice in both directions and experienced the consequences.
And here’s the kicker:
Often, the option that reduces the most pain in the long run, is pretty painful right now.
And it’s hard to discount the smaller pain you’re feeling right now, because you’re not (yet!) feeling the bigger pain of the opposite choice.
One way that I’ve found helpful to reframe this is to visualize and prioritize, your future self.
How?
Ask yourself some future-oriented questions like:
Will your future self be glad you took that vacation?
Will your future self be happy you made a plan for the day?
Will your future self be grateful you got the sleep you need to operate efficiently today?
The answer to those questions is usually yes.
So let me ask you this:
To ensure that your future self is happy, well-rested, fulfilled, and feeling in control, are you willing to deal with a small amount of pain today?
The answer is up to you.
