How to Make a Big Decision
Hi Friends!
What I’d like to share with you is a little secret on how to make a BIG decision. Okay truth is, it doesn’t even have to be THAT BIG… this applies for any decision, big or small. But most people seem to get stuck or complacent whenever they have to make a big (perhaps life-altering) decision so I’m here to help.
I need to give credit to the wonderful Rachel Hollis because she is the person who helped me make my life-altering decision to switch careers and become a real estate agent in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic. Many people- including my husband- discouraged me from doing this for logical reasons… the economy was sinking, people weren’t looking to buy, let alone come out of their houses… but I made the choice to do it anyway and let me tell you why.
Remember these three C’s when making a big decision: Choose, Commit, Consistent.
I like to add a fourth C and that’s Collaborate. (Can you tell I was a teacher?)
Choose
To make a big decision, you first need to choose. You’re thinking “duuuuhhhh Sarah”. Well let me say that this was the hardest part for me because I couldn’t choose whether I wanted to stay in education or do something totally different. I would lose sleep thinking about whether a career change was the right thing for me. After writing numerous pro’s and con’s lists, I stumbled upon Episode #122 of the “Rise” podcast by Rachel Hollis and she gave me the courage to choose change. I was scared AF, but I knew I would have regretted it if I didn’t at least try.
Commit
Once you’ve made a choice, you must commit. This is not the time for commitment issues to arise people! Let me say it again, you must COMMIT. This means you live, eat, and breathe this new choice and you’re all in no matter the circumstances. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about changing my mind to go into real estate because of COVID-19, but I reflected and realized one thing: If I could overcome this, then I can overcome anything. There will always be obstacles and it is those who stay the course and keep their commitment that will come out on top.
Consistent
The third thing you must do is be consistent. Have you ever heard the saying, “consistency is key”? Well, news flash- it’s true. It is so important to keep up and keep going. An example is learning how to read. A kindergartner comes into school knowing no letter sounds. If the teacher taught the student letter sounds once, would the child be able to read? The answer is NO! The student must practice letter sounds consistently and even when that skill is mastered, he will have to learn blending before reading. Once a student knows how to read words, he can then begin reading sentences and so forth. Guess what? If that child doesn’t read consistently, he will never be a good reader. Unfortunately, this is the main reason why so many kids are poor readers… they don’t read CONSISTENTLY at school and at home.
So what is the point I’m trying to make? Do not start and stop. Do not make a big decision and give less than 100% effort. Do not let your motivation fizzle out. Do not quit if you don’t see progress as quickly as you thought. Stay the course and be consistent because hard work always pays off.
Collaborate
The last component I’ve added is collaboration. When I was going back and forth about my own big decision, I made sure to talk to people closest to me and people who have been where I was going. I talked to my husband, sister, father, and closest friends. I talked to other realtors and entrepreneurs. I even joined a Facebook group and talked to experts and strangers that were in the same profession. In other words, I collaborated with everyone who could give me a full picture of how my life would look like, sound like, and feel like.
An important note: these people are not making the decision for you. Please do not allow others (even the ones closest to you) to decide how to live your life… in fact, they might make the decision harder for you, which is why collaboration comes last and after you’ve already made the choice and committed to it. You are in charge of your own life and only you know what’s best. So, follow those instincts and get GOING!
You totally got this.