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When you “don’t know what to do”

TEREZ RIJKENBERG, MBA

TEREZ RIJKENBERG, MBA

Executive coach Terez Rijkenberg is an MBA graduate, author, speaker, and facilitator who blends productivity and mindset strategies to give busy executives simple ways to overcome procrastination and self-doubt. Terez is passionate about helping people achieve more success without all the stress so that they can create the ultimate life-work balance.

We all stop ourselves from the progress we want with thoughts of “I don’t know what to do” or “I don’t know what I should do” or “I don’t know what to do next”. The only reason you “don’t know what to do” is because you haven’t decided.

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We all stop ourselves from the progress we want with thoughts of “I don’t know what to do” or “I don’t know what I should do” or “I don’t know what to do next”.

The only reason you “don’t know what to do” is because you haven’t decided.

Let that settle in for a minute.

Read this slowly: The only reason you “don’t know what to do” is because you fear the outcome if you make a decision and the result is not what you expect it to be.

Am I right?

Therefore the only reason you “don’t know what to do” is because you haven’t decided.

Therefore “not knowing what to do” isn’t a knowing problem it’s a DECISION problem.

Which is great news – because now we can work with the real issue and look at why you aren’t making a decision.

With so many of my clients they find themselves in a position where they tell me they are “stuck” and “they don’t know what to do”.

However, when I question a bit more, they do know. They know exactly what they want to do, and they are able to tell me in detail what they are thinking about doing.

Or they give me their options of what they are thinking about doing.

They KNOW! 

They just haven’t decided.

But when they realise that knowing what to do is as easy as making a decision, it takes a layer of complexity off.

They don’t need to know anymore, they just need to decide. Yes or no? A, B or C?

Read this slowly too: The very interesting thing about decisions we don’t make because we are scared about the outcome is we will only truly KNOW the outcome of the decision once we have made it.

So the next time you think to yourself “I don’t know what to do” just know that all you really need to do is make a decision.

And you’ll only really know if your decision is the “best” one after you have made it.

And the bonus is you’ll have gained much more KNOWLEDGE about the outcome once you’ve made a decision instead of keeping yourself stuck in “I don’t know what to do”.

 

TAKE ACTION:

  • Notice when you are telling yourself (or others” “I don’t know what to do” or similar.
  • Remind yourself that you’re only saying this to yourself because you haven’t made a decision yet.
  • Write down what you need to make a decision about. What do you want to do? What are your options?
  • Write down the worst-case scenarios of what could happen if you make a decision and what you will do about it.
  • Then make a decision!
  • COACHING: If you would like to build the skill of faster and better decision-making for you or your team, then book a free consultation with me here.

Your coach,

Terez

Want to know more about how this can apply to YOU?

Why not sign up for a FREE 30-min consultation with me. We will explore your goals, the obstacles that are currently getting in the way and how you can overcome them. It's easy once you have a strategy.

Want to know more about how this can apply to YOU?

Why not sign up for a FREE 30-min consultation with me. We will explore your goals, the obstacles that are currently getting in the way and how you can overcome them. It's easy once you have a strategy.

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