Difficult Decisions

Isn’t this a big one? So much of my work is filled with people needing to make a decision and if they are talking to me about it then it must be a difficult one.

Karma and consequence

Decision making is the nature of being alive. Every moment we are making decisions and each of these decisions will have a consequence. In eastern philosophies the consequence is called karma. People in the West talk about good karma and bad karma in reality good and bad does not exists it is simply a consequence, it is us that adheres the labels of good and bad. Once we get beyond the ideas of fault and blame we see only consequence and to the awake mind, learning.

The issue about making a decision is the fear

Many people are scared of making decisions for fear of making a mistake and getting it wrong. The greater the potential outcome of the decision the harder it becomes. At this point many people opt to do nothing not realising that in karma doing nothing is also an action. There is a consequence to doing nothing therefore to do nothing is as active as doing something.

The value of a decision

The value of making a decision is that you are in control. To be at the dither point unable to decide what to do next turns us into victims, vulnerable to being pushed around by the situation or by other people. When we make a decision it is as though we have taken hold of our life and even if the decision is wrong we can learn from it and make another decision to get us back on track. In mindful awareness we can observe consequence and make a choice.

Nothing bad ever happens

This maybe a bit hard to grasp but once you have it can be life changing. In a world of consequence and learning nothing bad can ever happen. This is because right, wrong, good, bad, fault and blame are all in the eye of the beholder. If we take away all of those labels and simply look at any situation in life as a learning opportunity we will always get the very best from our life that we possibly can.

Tossing a coin

If you hold to the philosophy of nothing ever bad happening you could just as well toss a coin to make a decision as long as you are awake enough to learn from whatever happens. Ok, so it is better if you make an active decision but when you are really stuck the deal is that you need to do something and if you do decide to do nothing then own that as an active decision and be responsible for the consequence and learn.

Asking the Oracle

Many people, when faced with a difficult decision, will consult the oracle. This might be in the form of a psychic, a tarot reader, the I Ching, Rune Stones, Angel cards, these are all actually very valid things. When we consult an oracle we evoke the Barnum effect. Barnum was a circus owner and illusionist. The Barnum effect is that you see what you want to see. Equally you hear what you want to hear. Our own bias is such that we will read into, or take what we want, in ways that simply apply to just us from whatever we experience. When you read your stars in the daily newspaper the Barnum effect will ensure that whatever you read into it will be right, good and effective just for you.

The bottom line is that making a decision is simply about the consequence. Some consequences will be obvious and others unforeseen. Whatever the outcome if we are mindfully awake we will learn, grow and move on.

On the basis that nothing bad can ever happen and that we can deal with whatever the consequence we can move ahead assured in a positive outcome to our lives. On that basis there are never difficult decisions just interesting consequences.

Take care and be happy

Sean x

1 reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] Here’s Sean’s blog post for the week […]

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply to TSHP271: How to make difficult decisions - Live in the Present Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.