Finding Direction

by ANNIE on December 2, 2009

Every day bajillions of people start a new venture. They decide to start a photography business, they decide to open a Subway franchise, they decide to create a Facebook fan page, they decide to start selling bowling balls. Whatever. With each of those decisions and all the choices that were mulled over, how many choices were NOT decided upon? We don’t normally think about the unchosen ventures. Focus typically only falls upon the direction that was chosen.
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So, let’s say you have a desk job that bores you, but you love to paint with watercolors, take photographs of nature, and teach people about living green. You want to start a business, go out on your own, and follow your passion. Ok, great! But which passion do you choose? Watercolor, photography, or being a greenie? HOW do you know which one to choose? How do you decide?

I got to thinking about this today after a Twitter conversation on the subject. You could have all the motivation in the world, but if you lack direction, you’re stuck dead in the water. The point of this post it not to announce “the way” to make a decision, because everyone does it differently and I don’t think one-size-fits-all when you comes to decision-making. The point of all of this is that, simply, I’m curious.

I have always been able to, upon realizing that I, in fact, have a decision to make, throw the available options into the back of my brain, walk around with them rolling around in there, and confidently know that within a day or two – sometimes just a matter of hours – one will specifically and certainly pop out.

I’m serious. This is how I do it. I mull and mull and mull indirectly until one of the options comes to the surface.

Is that normal?!

How do you do it? Have you ever experienced a time when you had all the motivation and options in the world but were stuck because you couldn’t make a decision on which option to pursue? Share the details. Which venture did you finally choose? How did you do it?

Outside help…time…random guess? When faced with options, how do you decide what direction to go?

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  • Annie, you know how big a fan I am of yours and getting this type of insight into your process is both meaningful and interesting.

    As for my process with options well I tend to have an idea about things either before they're presented to me by doing research and generally aware of the options that will be presented to me or can make a snap decision based entirely on my "gut" (which I tend to believe to be my ability to gather random bits of information and compile them to make a decision that I can't adequately describe the process of how I got there).

    This annoys the girl I'm currently dating to no end especially when we go out to restaurants. I can walk into a spot, take a single glance at the menu and be ready to order in 10 seconds. As a personal chef, she on the other hand wants to weigh all the potential choices and find on that's absolutely phenomenal but it takes time to get there.

    In regards to business, I simply "know" immediately if I want to do business with someone or with a company and if I get that sign well then I'll put in crazy hours to make it happen.

    Well there's my two cents.
  • andypinasco
    I get my gear on, and hit the trail with a tech podcast as ambient noise. This sets me in an environment where no one can pull at my attention, hence robbing energy from my creative focus, and allows me to noodle out the quandaries that plague my progression.

    Layman terms == running knocks the cobwebs out and energizes me.
  • cherylsweeney
    For me it's a 2 step process. First I gather as much information as I can and have my favorite people weigh in. (Others sometimes see things that I don't and I'd rather learn from their wisdom/mistakes than have to make all the mistakes myself.)

    Then, I mull.

    Sometimes when I'm really torn, I'll make a decision but won't act on it for a week or so. I'll walk through my days as if I've made that decision, live with it, etc.

    I've gone through this process a dozen or more times with dieting and eating healthy. So I read and study...which diet is healthiest for me, can I stick to it for life, is it expensive or really labor intensive, do I even like what I will have to eat? I've become very skilled at this hunting and gathering thing.

    And the mulling? Well, I love love to mull! I say it's mulling, my husband says its procrastination! Actually, I think it can be both. But, bottom line, if I wait around until I FEEL like taking action, I will inevitably get stuck.
  • Cheryl, perfect! Glad to hear that I'm not the only "muller" out there. I love the acting-as-of-you've-made-the-decision piece...something that could greatly assist with the major consequences of certain decisions!
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