Decision-Making Paralysis: When needing to make a hard choice or decision, even the most experienced leaders can feel it. They get stuck in their head and old “battle wounds” surface, and are subconsciously applied to the choices at hand. As a result, they are draining themselves of their energy to make the best possible choice under the circumstances. Sound familiar? Read on to learn how to reverse decision-making paralysis, and step back into your power!

Conscious choice is the third practice (a.k.a. discipline) out of the ten featured in this series. All ten practices help increase your leadership potential and performance. Conscious choice is defined as deciding, while fully present in the moment and not to draw conclusions based on past experiences of similar situations, but on what is in front of you and the energy you want to approach the challenge with.

In case you have missed previous articles on the subject, here is the complete list of the ten practices as defined by the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC):

1. Awareness
2. Acceptance
3. Conscious Choice
4. Trusting the Process
5. Authenticity
6. Fearlessness
7. Confidence
8. Connection
9. Presence in the Moment
10. 100% Energetic Engagement

As humans, we make hundreds of choices a day. Ranging from the clothes we wear to the food we eat. We don’t give these choices much thought for the most part unless they come with significant risk. The greatest risks are associated with what we value the most, e.g., money, friendship, connection, success, etc. 

How you approach your choice has a significant impact on your level of energy. Using the example of deciding whether or not to attend a company social gathering, let’s look at two different ways to approach this scenario.

You decide to attend because:

1. a) You fear your manager would note your absence and would judge you as not engaged, which could impact your career trajectory in the organization.
2. b) You view the gathering as an excellent opportunity to connect with co-workers and see a side of them you typically wouldn’t at the office, helping you strengthen internal relationships.

Can you see the differences between these two approaches? Choice a) Is fear-based and comes from a low level of energy.  Choice b) Is purpose-based and is associated with higher levels of energy and consciousness that better serve you. To quote Nelson Mandela, “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” 

As a professional coach, I have several tools to help leaders out of their decision-making paralysis and approach choices with a high level of confidence and energy. If you are interested in learning how to unleash the career of your dreams, contact me at angela@belladonnacareercoach.com.