Whatever terrible things may have happened to you, only one thing allows them to damage your core self, and that is continued belief in them.
Martha BeckRead
Indecision may come from an instinctive hunch that there's more you need to know - which means it's time to learn everything you can about the pros and cons of each option. You can continue on this track, however, only as long as you're unearthing genuinely new information.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Indecision often signals the need for more knowledge before making a choice.
Martha Beck emphasizes that feeling unsure about a decision can actually stem from an intuitive understanding that more information is needed. She suggests that this sense of indecision should prompt a thorough exploration of the options available, weighing their pros and cons, while ensuring that the pursuit of knowledge is continually revealing new insights rather than just retracing familiar territory.
Themes
IndecisionKnowledgeOptionsDecision MakingLearning
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a team meeting where members are unsure about project directions.
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When fear makes your choices for you, no security measures on earth will keep the things you dread from finding you. But if you can avoid avoidance - if you can choose to embrace experiences out of passion, enthusiasm, and a readiness to feel whatever arises - then nothing, nothing in all this dangerous world, can keep you from being safe.
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To complete your daily mental hygiene, observe any part of you that is upset or anxious, and offer that part of yourself the following simple wishes: 'May you be well. May you be happy. May you be free from suffering.' Repeat this until you actually mean it.
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Since our society equates happiness with youth, we often assume that sorrow, quiet desperation, and hopelessness go hand in hand with getting older. They don't. Emotional pain or numbness are symptoms of living the wrong life, not a long life.
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