This past weekend I reveled in the brilliant scarlets and the bright yellows of fall as I drove up Snoqualmie Pass for a retreat near North Bend.  I experienced total peace.  A month before I struggled with the decision, “Was the retreat a worthy expense?!”  As women 50 and older we can either get bolder and more excited about decision making or more timid.  What helps us take the struggle out of the process?

This is such a worthy topic that I will provide tips from two sources, “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, Dynamic techniques for turning fear, indecision, and anger into power, action, and love” by Susan Jeffers, and Deepak Chopra’s “The Book of Secrets, Unlocking the Hidden Dimensions of Your Life.”   Today I will feature Susan’s suggestions and on Thursday, Deepak’s.

Susan declares in her chapter on How to Make a No-Loose Decision that our lives are comprised of countless decisions, no one decision makes us who we are.  She contends that you can either use the no-win model of choice which most assume is the way it is or the win/win model.  The win/lose model says that there are definitely right and wrong choices.  By making a choice you are always putting yourself at peril, “What if you make the wrong choice???”  That model leaves you haunted before and after you make your choice with the fear of a wrong choice.

Susan’s win/win model proposes each time you come to a choice point determine what your “A” and “B” choices are.  Consider the advantages of each and know that either choice can be a “right” choice!  Coming from that place no matter which choice you make you are moving toward something that you desire and you are learning what that choice opens up for you.  What a freeing model that is, no draining second guessing, both choices can be right! 

What I found was that when I made a decision to attend the retreat and declared it right for me, all manner of resources came my way that reinforced the wisdom of that decision.

So, try it!  Consider the next time you come to a decision you are struggling with, “What if both of these options can be right for me?” Notice what energy is released as you give yourself permission to move forward boldly with your RIGHT decision.