Does it take you five times longer than the average person to make decisions? Is almost every one of your sentences littered with the words "maybe," "probably," or "possibly?" Do you often find yourself asking people to make decisions for you? If so, I can tell you with a reasonable degree of certainty that you are, in fact, an indecisive person. Actually, the fact that you're indecisive is probably the only thing you've ever been sure about. The world of uncertainty is tough, and we indecisive individuals face a lot of struggles that decisive people just don't understand.
If you're indecisive, here are seven struggles that you probably face on a regular basis.
1. Picking out your outfit for the day.
You think you know what you want, so you try it on and...oh. It doesn't look right. You can't say exactly what, but something about it just isn't right. Better try on half your closet until you settle for something partially satisfying. This often makes you late for most things, and leaves your closet pretty messy, too.
2. Making plans.
"What do you want to do?" This question sends you into an endless, head-spinning spiral. You don't know. There are so many things you could potentially want to do--how could you pick just one? What if the thing you suggest ends up being a terrible idea? Why are you the one who has to pick? To every person who has ever asked us to make all the plans, here's an answer for you: we don't know. We don't care. We will do literally anything, as long as we don't have to decide. Just do us a favor and pick for us. Please.
3. Ordering food at a restaurant (specifically one you've never been to before).
If you're eating at a restaurant you've been to before, the decision is usually pretty easy--you'll have what you had last time. That was good. But eating at a new restaurant opens up hundreds of possibilities. You start to get bug-eyed as you scan through your options. Your hands even get a little sweaty holding the laminated menu. So much food; so many options. You take a quick poll of the table to see what everyone else is ordering, hoping that will help you out. It doesn't. Uh, can the waitress just surprise you?
4. Shopping.
Yeah, that department store looks cool on the outside, but the inside is overwhelming to say the least. The idea of shopping probably sounds fun to you, but when you're faced with the reality of handing over your hard-earned money for items that you will now own forever, well, that's a big decision to make. You ponder over potential purchases for way too long, putting them down and coming back again far too many times. You try clothes on (then take them off, then try them on again) and still aren't sure if they're worth buying. You usually leave the store with nothing, vowing to one day become rich enough to hire a personal shopper.
5. Making major life decisions.
The fact that you were able to decide on a college is a literal miracle. Picking your major was a stressful process--you might have changed it a couple of times, or maybe you still don't know what you want to do. Your future plans change almost every day: one minute you're researching law schools, and the next, you're checking out an application for the Peace Corps.
6. Deciding what to watch on Netflix.
If you had a dollar for every time you started something on Netflix, got a few minutes in, then decided to watch something else, you would have enough money to buy Netflix accounts for the entire country. There have been instances when you spent more time scrolling through the browse page than actually watching a show. Who would have thought that even the most relaxing of activities could be so stressful?
7. People asking, "why can't you just make up your mind?" Or saying, "just pick something!"
For all you people out there forcing us to decide, here's a little tip: WE CAN'T. There is nothing more frustrating than being forced to make up our minds on the spot. We are very bad at making decisions, and being pressured will not help. We'll probably just sit there, panicking, until someone else steps in. We also realize how annoying this is to those around us, but sometimes our uncertainty just can't be stopped. So, on behalf of indecisive people everywhere: we're sorry.