Is decision-making easy or hard for you?

[shyvas]

I have a terrible time making decisions about everything. From deciding what to wear, what to eat, what movie to see, what to choose in the supermarket, etc., practically every time I have to decide on something, whether big or small, it's a hair-pulling exercise. It drives me craaazy! Whenever I actually know what I want from the outset and I go for it without any hesitation, I consider that strength of character.

Part of the reason I think is because I had helicopter parents who made a lot of decisions for me, even when I became an adult, so I've had very little experience making them on my own until I absolutely had to. But even standing in the supermarket trying to decide which type of Tofurky sandwich slices I want, I have trouble. Argh!

Make a list of your criteria when you have to make a decious; with a column for the Pros and another for the Cons. Putting it on paper makes the whole task of taking a decision much easier.

Now, when you're out shopping and you can't decide on which Tofurky slice you want; try and decide before you go out. What are your main concerns when buying food ; price, qulaity, taste, convenience ?

I have made many important decisions in the past; sometimes bad , sometimes good. As long as you are making them and not being forced into one; all is well.

 

[Snowcone]

It's easy for me to decide what I feel is best. Following up on that is the problem.

 

[Amy SF]

Make a list of your criteria when you have to make a decious; with a column for the Pros and another for the Cons. Putting it on paper makes the whole task of taking a decision much easier.

Now, when you're out shopping and you can't decide on which Tofurky slice you want; try and decide before you go out. What are your main concerns when buying food ; price, qulaity, taste, convenience ?

I have made many important decisions in the past; sometimes bad , sometimes good. As long as you are making them and not being forced into one; all is well.

I can see myself doing that with big decisions, such as deciding which smartphone I ought to get, but for smaller decisions, such as deciding what to wear to a family gathering, it just seems like too much trouble.

 

[shyvas]

I can see myself doing that with big decisions, such as deciding which smartphone I ought to get, but for smaller decisions, such as deciding what to wear to a family gathering, it just seems like too much trouble.

We are all different. Some things seem easy for certain people and difficult for others and vice versa.

 

[LuvOurMother]

I can totally relate! Am very indecisive myself, it is actually one of my biggest faults. I waste so much time trying to make decisions and stress out when I have bigger decisions to make. In hindsight I realize the main reason I dropped out of college was bc I couldn't decide what to major in, 3 1/2 years in with no declared major!
At the market I probably look like a looney person to the clerks when I stand there for way to long looking at products, or walk back and forth putting things back and such.
Clothes really suck time. I change outfits a lot before deciding and luckily my partner has a fashion sense I trust so I ask him what looks best and usually stuck with what he says. I know it must be frustrating to him sometimes when I do this constantly.
Does anyone know if there is a term for this kind of constant indeciveness?

 

[Amy SF]

I can totally relate! Am very indecisive myself, it is actually one of my biggest faults. I waste so much time trying to make decisions and stress out when I have bigger decisions to make. In hindsight I realize the main reason I dropped out of college was bc I couldn't decide what to major in, 3 1/2 years in with no declared major!
At the market I probably look like a looney person to the clerks when I stand there for way to long looking at products, or walk back and forth putting things back and such.
Clothes really suck time. I change outfits a lot before deciding and luckily my partner has a fashion sense I trust so I ask him what looks best and usually stuck with what he says. I know it must be frustrating to him sometimes when I do this constantly.
Does anyone know if there is a term for this kind of constant indeciveness?

I don't know of any, but I'm sure some psychologist or newsmagazine will come up with something soon.

 

[Forster]

Does anyone know if there is a term for this kind of constant indeciveness?

Wishy Washy.

 

[Amy SF]

Wishy Washy.

When used in politics, Flip Flopping.

 

[Forster]

When used in politics, Flip Flopping.

No that's business as usual.

 

[PTree15]

It depends on the decision. If it involves spending large sums of money, I will take forever (doing all sorts of research, comparison shopping, etc.) before I decide. For example, it took a year for me to decide to buy a new car. Regarding what to wear on a daily basis, no problem (well, most of the time ).

 

[Clueless Git]

By definition;

No decision that has involved thinking hard is going to feel like it was made easily.

 

[Forster]

It depends on the decision. If it involves spending large sums of money, I will take forever (doing all sorts of research, comparison shopping, etc.) before I decide. For example, it took a year for me to decide to buy a new car. Regarding what to wear on a daily basis, no problem (well, most of the time ).

To me that is just part of the decision making process.

 

[Spang]

I sometimes struggle answering this-or-that questions when I'm indifferent to either option and must pick one over the other.

 

[Danielle]

Hard. Very hard.

 

[Tom L.]

I'm not sure...

EDITED TO ADD: Ledboots beat me to it!



Actually, in the past, my experience has been like AspireToExpire's sometimes: someone will ask me to choose, I'll choose, and they try to change my mind!!

Makes me hostile, it does. My cats and rabbits didn't play such games.

 

[Spang]

Hard. Very hard.

That's what she said.

 

[thefadedone]

^Was Not Expecting Those Eyes!!!!!!!!!!

 

[yakherder]

I'm not indecisive, but I'm definitely on the extreme side of analytical. I am, however, sometimes prone to making crazy impulsive decisions, like when I just decided to move to China one day. The fact that many of those decisions have impacted my life in positive ways has definitely built my confidence over the years. I've managed to keep "Nomad" on a bit of a leash though since becoming a father.

 

[Kitties]

Well, one big example was back in 1990, when I was already 31 years old, when my parents and I went looking for a condo for me to live in. They were helping me out with the down payment, so I really depended on them. Also, I had ZERO experience with that kind of thing while they had lots of experience, albeit with houses rather than condos. So when we looked at one particular condo in a certain type of building, one of the things that appealed to them was that, compared to others we'd looked at, it was CHEAP. I had reservations about the condo, but they insisted it was perfect for me. I was clueless, so I let them make that decision for me.


I'm still living in the condo, but I've grown to hate it. There are so many things about the condo and the building it's in that I don't like and I wish I had had the backbone to tell my parents that I needed to keep looking, but I didn't. So I let them make the decision to buy the condo.

Oh I'm sorry about this. And I think I can relate a bit. Would you, could you sell and get something you like better?

I don't have trouble with little decisions but big big trouble with big decisions. When I bought a house, I hated it. Can't believe I stayed 7 years. I'd like to buy again and I know it's going to be a hard worrisome time. Won't be buying a house though.

 

[thefadedone]

I'm not indecisive, but I'm definitely on the extreme side of analytical. I am, however, sometimes prone to making crazy impulsive decisions, like when I just decided to move to China one day. The fact that many of those decisions have impacted my life in positive ways has definitely built my confidence over the years. I've managed to keep "Nomad" on a bit of a leash though since becoming a father.

Pfft! That's not impulsive at all. Who hasn't randomly decided to pack up everything and move to a whole other country and actually followed through on it.