Friday, April 5, 2019

The Parents

Indecision and delays are the parents of failure.” (George Canning)

Dearest Emma,

I know you’ve always had a problem with making decisions. Ever since you can remember you’ve been too scared to make a decision in case it’s the wrong one. Your parents tried to protect you by making decisions for you, and it kept you safe. It did nothing to grow the confidence you needed to make decisions on your own.

When you’re growing up it can feel like every decision you have to make could be life-changing. Who do you want to be friends with, what will you wear, which school subjects will you choose, and who will you date. It’s not about what or whom you like. It’s about making a strategic decision for your social survival. Often you made the wrong decisions and you got hurt. It happens. You learn from ill of this, and grow as a person.

Even though in the last seven years you’ve started making your own decisions, the process feels scary at times. Each decision feels so permanent. If it doesn’t work out, what will you do? You’ll have to risk looking stupid like you didn’t know what you were doing in the first place. I want you to know that there’s no shame in changing your mind. Most decisions aren’t permanent.

Each decision you make is made with the knowledge, trust, and understanding you have right now, in this moment. That means it can only ever be a good decision. What a lot of people have failed to realize is that your life can be OK as it is right now. You make decisions because it’s what you need at this point in time. Maybe you need to make a decision it because it will teach you a lesson your soul needs to learn. Maybe you’ll have a great time with this decision or maybe you’ll get hurt. Either way, it’s OK, and it will be OK.

So this is your permission slip, Emma. This is the permission you need to make decisions and not be scared of changing your mind; of going in a completely different direction, no matter how far you’ve gone along a particular path. No matter how far you’ve gone, if it doesn’t feel right anymore, you can change it. You’ve learned what you needed to learn and whatever money or earthly investment you’ve made has been worth it. Take a leap of faith, and consciously follow your heart.

Love, Light, and Blessings,


Emma


 

 “Indecision may come from an instinctive hunch that there's more you need to know - which means it's time to learn everything you can about the pros and cons of each option. You can continue on this track, however, only as long as you're unearthing genuinely new information. “(Martha Beck)[i]



[i] Adapted from: An open letter to my indecisive self” by Emma Brooke

 

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