When you have doubts about what you should do, don’t do anything.
Oprah said that.
When I heard it, it made me think of all the times I’ve sat confused and paralyzed as to what to do, not knowing which way would be better.
I wondered if I’d have ever got out of bed if I’d waited until I was sure to make a decision.
Then I looked at the quote again and read the explanation:
Your happiness, success and joy are all directly connected to that still, calm place within, so when you have doubts, you should do nothing…and wait for a clear sign of what your next step should be.
The more I thought about it, the more I realised that any decision that I’ve made where I’ve been confused or had doubts has led to challenging times. I won’t say I made the wrong decision, but the whole process and what came after felt hard, not easy.
In startling comparison, decisions I’ve made where I’ve meditated and listened and waited for my intuition to guide me have lead to remarkably easy changes. For example, the first time I quit my last office job, I was wracked with indecision for weeks and when I eventually took the plunge, it resulted in two days of agonising emotional torture with my employer trying to convince me to stay (which in the end, she did, and it was the right move). I wasn’t ready, and I had huge doubts about leaving.
The last time I quit my office job, I woke up one morning and felt that it was time to leave, so I did. I had a conversation, it was emotional, but there was not of the trauma of last time. Everything felt easy, and continues to do so (technical website issues which pop up from time to time aside).
If like I used to, you think of yourself as a natural worrier, start training your brain to be still. The more time you spend getting to know yourself and feeling your feelings, the more secure you will become in your intuition’s guidance. Meditate, do yoga, go for a walk in nature, swim in the ocean (if you’re lucky enough to live by the sea!). Take time to get to know yourself and your feelings.
If you think you need some help getting to know your feelings and yourself better so you can better figure out what you want, take a look at my Your Selfish Identity program and let me know if you think it’s a fit for you.
Thank you Emma.
It feels so well when I see that many other people also share the view that when in doubt dont. The saying actually speaks for itself because if there is doubt it means there is a reason that you know that threatens the peace afterwards and you are trying to trick yourself to see if you can lie to your logic because for other reasons you wanted to do it. If there are hints nudging you that there is something negative there, dont ignore it.
I have been mortified for 2 months whether I should invest 150,000 dollars in flat I wanted to rent out for prospective tenants. Price was great, location was great, flat was beautiful but …there was no elevator and 4th floor. I loved the flat but I knew that no elevator would be a huge put off for a fraction of potential tenants, and I could not afford the stress of hearing complaints about the apartment not having that elevator. Finally I became so sick about it that I decided not to buy it. So I wrote my agent and I said, I won’t.
I feel relaxed for the first time in a long time.
When you find gold, you will know it is gold, if you have doubts, it is not gold.
I’m so glad you resonated with this Al!