Have you ever been stuck between two options? Not able to choose between two things that you really want to do? Indecisive between which two Netflix shows to binge upon? Whether to play video games or be productive?
I figured out a fool-proof manner on how to always make a decision: flip a coin.
Now this may sound ridiculous, but hear me out. This is how I make most of my more difficult decisions in life. It’s how I decide if I’m going out or study for an exam. How I decide if I’m going to eat healthy or if I’m going to inhale 40 chicken nuggets (usually it’s the chicken nuggets). Frankly, my friends would be upset how often I decide to go hang out with them by coin flip.
A simple coin flip wouldn’t be enough to actually make a decision. It’s more complex than that. You have to do it in a very specific manner.
You have to do it like this:
- Be stuck between two options
- Decide that you are going to flip a coin
- Be clear about what your options are
- Have someone else decide which will be heads or tails
- Flip the coin!
At this point two things can happen:
- You get a gut feeling which of the two options you actually want to do; or,
- You still have no clue
On the occasion that the first thing occurs, your decision has been made and you can go do that thing. You don’t even have to watch the coin land. You probably should pick up the coin though. If you’re reading this article, then you are probably in college and there is no need to waste change (you can buy food with enough change. I learned that from a hungry night’s experience).
When you aren’t that lucky to get the first option, you watch how the coin lands. When you see the coin land that should be left with an answer right? Wrong.
You are left with two possibilities again:
- You want to flip the coin again; or,
- You live with what came up
When you want to flip the coin again or go best two out of three, take a moment and realize what you are doing. You aren’t happy with the outcome that you got. If you were happy with the outcome you got, then you wouldn’t want to re-flip the coin. If this happens, you go with the option that you didn’t get from the coin.
When you can live with the option that you get, then you go with that. It’s as simple as that. No weird thinking has to be done about it. You just go with it.
I came up with this method because I am horribly indecisive. I was always stuck between two options and I ended doing nothing because I couldn’t choose. Many evenings were spent just staring at Netflix not being able to decide. I tried it a few times and I stuck with it. I always keep a few coins on my person for this. In my dorm room, I actually had a coin on my desk specifically for my roommate and I to make decisions. Now throughout the years, this method hasn’t always given me the best results. I tend to stick with whatever occurs and I end up making a bad decision or two. Or a lot. Suffice to say, I have used this method to make some major life decisions. May not have been the best idea.
Disclaimer: I take no responsibility if you use this method to make a bad decision.
