First You Must Decide
By Norine Dagliano
A close friend called me today to about a job opportunity she
felt would be a good match for her husband's skills and experience.
The job was in southern West Virginia and they currently live in
central Pennsylvania. She began by asking for my help in updating
her husband's résumé, but within minutes she was
describing to me how overwhelmed she felt with the impact of a
decision they had not yet made.
How would they sell their current home in this tight real
estate market? How would they ever pack all the things they have
accumulated over the years? How could she convince her 78-year-old
mother to move (her mother has always lived with her). What would
she say to her sisters, who would never approve of the move? And
her husband's business - if he declared bankruptcy to dissolve the
business and all of their debts, how would they ever get a loan to
buy property in West Virginia? Before long, she had talked herself
out of making a change.
My friend is not neurotic - but like many, many people
contemplating a job or career change, she made the grand leap from
applying for a position to accepting the job and dramatically
altering her life. She created a scenario in her mind, and until
she could play it all out and identify solutions to every potential
outcome, she could not move ahead.
I see this quite frequently in my business. Professionals,
unhappy with their current job, company and or lives come to me
because they need and want to change. Yet, they are so overwhelmed
by the possible fall-out from their decision - they fail to decide.
They wait - until they have all the details worked out, all the
pieces to the puzzle, all the correct responses to the
unknowns.
My personal and professional mantra is a quote from
Ralph Waldo Emerson:
"Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to
make it happen."
As I continue to mature and learn to trust my "higher power" I
see the powerful truth of that statement unfold in my own life and
those who have the courage to "decide." When we waffle and send out
mixed messages about what we want - the universe does not know what
to deliver. Yet, when we are firm about what we want and need -
when we make the decision - somehow things begin to fall in
place.
How about you? What non-decision is holding you hostage? What
mixed messages are you sending out to the universe? When will you
decide so the universe can conspire to make it happen?
Thanks for letting me take a few minutes of your time. Have a
great day and remember this: If you are not managing your career,
then no one is. Let me know if I can help!
