Decisions, Decisions

Budgeting is definitely not one of my strengths. I normally work more than one job at a time to ensure that I don’t have to budget, and can be a little frivolous with my spending (because, really, what good is spending money if it isn’t fun?!). In the midst of deciding whether I should go to the mall on President’s Day to purchase an awesome new dress (come on! It’s a sale!), or a food processor (which I have wanted forever), the thought struck me that I make decisions in a pretty impulsive way. 

That happens in almost every facet of my life, and has honestly seemed to be the way to do things for me, personally. I decided to go to UT Dallas on a whim, with some background information at hand, but still pretty much on a whim. They had the major I wanted, Greek life and a dance team, but so did the other 3 schools I got into with a full scholarship. I just had a feeling when I visited that campus that it was the place for me. So I packed up, moved 3 states over from everyone I knew and went to that school. I started cheerleading on a whim, joined my sorority on a whim, and made other decisions like this that probably are  not very important in the grand scheme of my life.

But I also made big decisions based upon a gut feeling. I decided to get into Industrial Organizational psychology on a whim as well. I was not even planning on attending graduate school and one of my professors made me look into what I could do if I did pursue grad school. We went through a list of 19 different specializations and I/O just stuck out to me as being interesting. I had a feeling that I would like it, without even really understanding all that it encompassed, and it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. All of the aforementioned decisions really shaped my life into what it is today, and I honestly can say that I did all of this without regret. 

Now, I want to be clear: I am not telling anyone that they should make decisions like I do. I know that it gets me in trouble (especially when I buy really expensive shoes when I shouldn’t or when I decide to eat Wendy’s every day for a week because it’s what I crave). My point is that I know that this process works for me when I am conflicted on what to do, I go with the gut. I have been in situations where I have attempted to weigh each possible outcome and what is best, and then I end up second-guessing myself and making the entirely wrong decision. I think that each person should figure out what way of making decisions works best for them, whether it is semi-reckless like me, or very calculated like many other successful people I meet. I think each person differs, and that finding out what works for them is what is important. And if you wanted to know, I bought the food processor.