Two questions to ask when making a big decision
When there’s something you really want to do in your life, it’s easy to make the case for why we should do whatever it is. The hard part is taking the other side.
With that in mind, there are two questions that you can ask yourself when pondering a big decision that helps bring more of an outsider’s perspective.
1) What’s the worst that could happen?
Merely making the time and space to think through the possibilities of what could go wrong is a great way to make sure you’re not acting rashly. Your answer will likely help solidify your decision or make you reconsider before moving forward.
2) Do I have an off ramp if this doesn’t work out?
Sometimes considering and identifying your off ramps ahead of time is exactly what gives us the confidence to move forward. Other times the benefit comes in recognizing the lack of easily accessible off ramps. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you shouldn’t move forward, but it does help you fully grasp exactly what you’re signing up for if you do.
Here’s a recent example of how I personally put these questions to good use…
Despite wanting a dog for years, we’d been reluctant to get one due to bad allergies and asthma within our immediate family. We couldn't be sure how it would go and we didn’t feel like it would be fair to the dog if we weren’t sure.
In asking ourselves these two questions, it was clear that the worst that could happen would be having to get rid of a dog because our health issues wouldn’t allow for it. And that made me realize that if we did get a dog, we needed an off ramp that would allow us to rehome the dog safely and quickly if needed.
After considering these questions, we took the leap and brought home Stormy (pictured above), a 17lb Australian Labradoodle.
Care to take a guess at how this all worked out?
Unfortunately, within only a few days, both Michelle and I knew our worst fears were being realized as allergies and asthma reactions quickly flared up and only proceeded to get worse.
The joy of telling our girls we were getting a dog was quickly replaced with the gut wrenching realization that we needed to tell them that we had to take Stormy back. I’m sure many more hard conversations lie ahead with our girls but that one certainly takes the cake so far!
However, even though having a dog wasn’t meant to be for us, I felt better knowing that we tried and that we asked and answered these two questions first.
Because we couldn’t be sure if it would work, we specifically got her from a breeder who required the dog be returned to them if it didn’t work out for whatever reason. I’m also happy to report that Stormy was quickly adopted by another family.
So the next time you find yourself faced with a big decision, make sure you ask yourself these two questions first:
What’s the worst that could happen?
Do I have an off ramp if this doesn’t work out?
You’ll walk away more confident moving forward or glad you took a deep breath rather than making a rash decision. And even if it doesn’t work out, you’ll know you made the best decision possible with the information at hand.