Bittersweet
Standing at a professional crossroad is tough. On one hand, there is the excitement about the opportunities. On the other, a great deal needs to be considered from a future perspective. Tomorrow will be over in the blink of an eye and by nature I don’t give it much forethought, but it’ll be a much longer ride to get through several years. So how does one make the right long term decision?
Well, for one understand that there is no perfect decision. The things you worry about today are unlikely to be of much concern in a couple years. A ‘perfect decision’ today may still be perfect in two years, but it’ll likely be so for reasons beyond anything you can anticipate in the here and now. The values on which a decision is made need to be re-evaluated. Are they long term, or passing values? If you are basing a long term decision on a conviction that is fairly recent, dig deeper in search of something that has been with you longer.
Influence from close friends should be sought, but be warned: you have the greatest deal of information to make a decision with, and you are the one that will have to live with it. Is the friend suggesting a direction because they believe it’s what will make you happy, or are they speaking from a self-centred ‘it would make me happiest’ perspective?
Disregard all instant gratification pros. Instant gratification is just that, instant. It’s life span is very limited. It’s not that the pros gained from instant gratification decisions cannot deliver long term happiness, but they are one of the most potent biases in your decision making process. Eliminate these threats before they hijack your decision.
Understand that even with every last shred of available information in hand, your decision is still likely to be very, very difficult. The uncertainty of the future will make it so, nine out of ten times. With that understanding, make a decision! At the end of the day, it’s better to make a few mistakes while moving along, than to make none while staying where you are. Unless you are exactly where you want to be, the only chance of getting there is to get moving even at the expense of a few wrong turns.