Making smarter decisions with a flip of a coin

I’ve been dealing with some complex and crucial decisions over the last couple of months, and I’ve been procrastinating for about two or three weeks instead of actually making them.

Please note that this text is not about business decisions. Work is all about numbers and expertise, not gut feelings. But some will say, that a gut feeling is actually a combined opinion made of all the experience and knowledge one has. Do you agree?

Actually, I love the times when I need to make a big and ‘life-changing’ decision. In these moments, I feel alive and in control. Especially if the choices are socially frowned upon or in some way unpopular.

After years of therapy and practice, I’ve almost mastered the art of making decisions by noticing my body’s reactions rather than my brain alone. Most of the time, we already subconsciously know what we want, whether to stay in a relationship or end it, change a job or not, buy a car or save money.

But sometimes, this approach doesn’t work, and it feels like you can’t understand what you want. That’s what I was dealing with. I had been tormented by two major problems day and night for two and a half weeks. And I was exhausted. And then my therapist suggested I flip a coin.

“Why in the world would I make SUCH AN IMPORTANT decision based on a coin with a 50/50 chance? Come on, don’t you have better advice?” I exclaimed. 

Next, they explained to me how the coin works.

The moment the coin drops and we see the result, our bodies instantly react, either in disappointment or excitement. And that’s where we need to understand our feelings and make a decision.

I found a coin flip app, tried it, and actually understood what was the best decision for me. And, right away, I had it all figured out. It was a weight off my shoulders. 

And a couple days later, I came across an article about flipping a coin in Inc. 

So if you struggle to make a decision, flip a coin and follow your reaction when you see the result. It really works!