When in Doubt, Pause

Usually the most difficult phase of decision making is when the choices are narrowed down to two possibilities.

At this point, someone has often invested quite a lot of effort to almost reach the finish line of their conclusion and the start of whatever they expect will happen as a result of making a firm commitment one way or the other in a certain area of their lives.

Emotionally the person may feel ready for a change, fatigued from all their effort so far, restless to go back to other parts of their lives which have been waiting for their attention, even prior to all the fact gathering or observations necessary to be fully confident in what to pick.

This limbo phase of feeling ready while at the same time being aware more input may significantly add to a clear minded decision, is stressful all on its own.

'What to do instead of rushing to a conclusion because you're out of energy and patience for a particular problem you've already worked hard to solve, and the problem still isn't resolved?

Allow Yourself to take a Break!

This may sound obvious.

For anyone who's needed to pause their thinking flow after giving most of their energy to a topic before reaching an important conclusion, often there is an increased urge to push forward in order to finish the matter.

Pausing instead of rushing, often requires some self-soothing talk.

Remind yourself

Your work so far has been valuable.  Most likely you are much more aware of nuance and complexity of the topic than before you approached it.

The factors which will enhance and eventually strengthen the purpose and meaning of your decision, are outside your control.   The new developments will benefit you.  The waiting until this happens is hard.

Informed decisions are more likely to be satisfying ones.  Rushed decisions are less likely to satisfy our criteria.

In conclusion, when in doubt, pause!