Knowing when to reserve judgment.
No wiser words spoken.
Amidst the myriad of opinions, varying in extremity, and presupposed validity, it’s a useful skill to know when to hold off, to gather more information, and to observe, before deciding where you stand.
Take your time.
See what happens.
While it’s nice to think we all have time to “wait and see,” my life is filled with decisions that needed to be made, yesterday. “Waiting,” and “reserving judgment,” seem like luxuries that don’t exactly fit into our cultural fabric, if they ever fit at all.
We often allow a sense of urgency, manufactured or justified, to pressure us into making decisions, prematurely.
Thereby increasing the chances that we backpedal and carry the weight of consequence from those misguided choices. Despite having done the best we could, with the limited information made available.
Allowing ourselves to be swayed and pressured by swarms of individuals, seeking to influence the decisions we make.
Though, ironically enough, painfully alone to carry the consequences of those same decisions, regardless of impact and outcome…
No doubt, new information can be compelling.
That doesn’t make it right.
Or, to be precise, not all “new” information is relevant to the choices you make in your life, specifically.
“Right” information, or even “true” information, in a large majority of cases, is in and of itself relative - what is right now, and what seems right, in this present moment, is often subject to change as the situations, settings and contexts change.
So when it comes to making long-term decisions, the types of choices that have long lasting effects, take into consideration the risks and rewards. Make the required adjustments and accommodations, to give yourself the time you need to feel confident in the trajectory you would like to take, moving forward.
Give yourself the time and space, to decide what is right for you, specifically.
Reserve judgment.
You’re completely overlooking the fact that there are people who are relying on me to make choices, who are expecting me to make specific choices — how am I supposed to deal with the pressure of potentially letting the people closest to me down, or giving off the impression that their sense of urgency is of no importance.
If there are people, who rely on the effectiveness and accuracy of the choices you make, it’s all the more reason to give yourself the time and space, to make the best possible choices.
People are going to have an opinion on the trajectories that we take in life.
Many of those opinions are not strained with the responsibility of making said choices, themselves — keep that in mind.
Feeling pressured to please, being swayed by the opinions of those who often won’t carry the weight of the consequences of those choices, is a recipe for choosing prematurely.
Social pressure, is rarely directly relevant to the decisions that are under consideration.
If there is anything within you, that feels that more time is required, give yourself permission to take the time you need.
Value being clear about what information should be informing your choices moving forward, and what information is noise, taking up much needed mental space for sound decision-making.
You are the author of your life. Your one life.
Every future choice, a page unwritten in your story.
Give yourself the opportunity to make your choices with confidence.
Reserve judgment.
We, as individuals, are driven by more than instinct, we have the privilege of choice.
Honour each choice, celebrate your path.
#CriticalThinking #DecisionMaking #Choices #CelebrateChoice #TimeAndSpace #Clarity #ClarityOverConformity #ChooseYourPath #ReserveJudgment #PracticalWisdom