This is how you know you made the right decision

This is a story, a pattern which comes up very frequently when discussing with people: we all want to know whether we made the right decion or now. Or we are struggling hard in order to be 100% that we will make the right decision in a given upcoming conflicting situation.
Take for example, those who live as expats in a foreign country. 
They move to a new country for an unspecified period. They don't know whether it was a good decision or not. Some of them struggle with life there: don't like the place, the weather, the system, the people, the traditions, the mentality. And when comparing the new life with the former one, the latter is always the winner. At the same time, they keep asking themselves: “Did I make the right decision?" In the end, they may move back to their home country with a feeling of relief, but also bitterness regarding the time “wasted” there.
Some other expats, though, adjust pretty well to the new place. They have anticipated there would be difficulties in the beginning, but they are ready to compromise and to try. And above all, they never ask themselves if they made the right decision.
If we take the place as a stable factor, how come some of the expatriates feel they made the right decision while some others regret it and go back? 

---

PERFECTIONISM is highly related with indecisiveness. 
​
See HERE how you can make decisions that you will never regret. 

The thing is, there is no absolute right or wrong. To put it in another way, 

                              >>The right decision is the one you choose to defend. <<

There is no win-win situation. 
Whichever choice you make, you will gain something but also you will lose something else. There is no win-win situation. If you believe something like that, then it's probably the Perfectionist inside you who is telling you that you can have it ALL. 
For the same situation, one can choose one way and another the opposite way; believe it or not, both can lead to the right decision. This can apply to many aspects of our life:
In relationships: One may choose to leave a worn-out relationship and win from that; another chooses to fight for the relationship and also wins. 
In workplaces: One may choose to see all the opportunities in the job and stay even when discouraged; another may choose to change jobs and go for something more.
Both choices can be defended. Both decisions can be the winning ones. 

No point system will help you make the decision. 
If you think that a checklist with pros and cons will help, you are partly right, but also partly wrong. Life cannot be put into numbers. That comes from the fact that we make decisions not only with our minds but also with our emotions, with our instincts, with our hearts. So if it seems right, but it doesn't feel right, then why go for it? 
Moreover, each "point" doesn't have the same gravity with the next one. Maybe there is only one "con" in our list, but that one can be very important for our life and our values. So the comparison can turn out to be unfair in the end. 

You end up there where you are looking. 
If you keep saying to yourself that you made the wrong decision, then probably many negative things will keep popping up, "confirming" your claim. In the end everything goes wrong, just as you "predicted" (it is also called "self-fulfilling prophecy"). On the other hand, if you adopt a more optimistic, but still realistic perspective, expecting some obstacles, but also believing in your goal and appreciating what you gain through this decision, then your chances of making the most out of it, are huge! 

The choice is yours. 
You made the decision, so you cannot blame anyone else for it. If you believe that you did it for someone else, this will make you feel powerless and place you in the role of a victim. This will end up making you feel angry and bitter. Avoid prioritizing first what others want, but focus on what you want to achieve in the end. Remove the bias from your decision-making. 

Is it the best decision I can come up with? 
This is difficult to say, because you don't know what the result of your efforts are going to be . It is possible that the more you try, the more satisfied you will be with your decision. However at some point you need to decide. So rather than waiting forever for the PERFECT decision, you could start with a "good for now" decision. And that leads us to the next point: 

This decision is the right one ONLY for the present time. 
No one is in the position to tell or predict what is going to happen in the future. Maybe you change your mind. Maybe you will have different needs and desires and goals and values and perspectives and priorities. You are not going to be the same person for the rest of your life. But for now, this decision is great, and that's OK. 
 
What if I regret it? You shouldn't. If you took that decision, then it was the right one at that time based on your specific needs and specific goals back then. If you regret that decision, you regret who you were back then when you made the decision. And, no, this is not something that you would like to negotiate every time you have doubts about your decisions. Your self-worth is your anchor, and whatever decisions you took back then, they were part of the process of your development.  

At the end of the day, what is the price you pay for chasing the right (or should I say, the perfect) decision?
Let's zoom out a little bit: In order for you to make the right decision, you have spent days, weeks, months ruminating over the pros and cons of each option. Meanwhile, you have lost your sleep, you have disconnected from your partner/family/friends, you have constant headaches, you forget easily, the only thing you are thinking and talking about is this decision, you have procrastinated, you have pushed aside other important decisions, you have become more stressed/sad/depressed/irritated and less happy/calm/content. 
If the price you are paying for the PERFECT decision is your Mental Health, then it has already become a wrong decision. 
That's the point where you have to learn when to say "stop" or "enough" and protect yourself, your mental health, your relationships, and everything that you consider important in your life. ​

Take action now. 

• How much of a Perfectionist are you? Grab your FREE GUIDE here. ​
• Read more about Perfectionism and how it's connected with Burnout. 
• Read our blog article "One day we will laugh about it" here. 
• Don't let others decide about your life, what's wrong and what's right: contact me and book a counseling session in order to get you out of this trap. 

Looking forward to hearing from you. 

Kind regards,