What is Hesitation?
Hesitation is the inability to make a decision when there are two or more options, or the tendency to frequently change decisions.
Advantages of Hesitation
Sometimes hesitation is not a negative trait; for example, when making an important decision, you may not be able to decide quickly. This gives you valuable time to think about the available options and study the situation from all angles. However, be careful not to let hesitation leave you stuck for too long.
Disadvantages of Hesitation
It becomes negative when it lasts longer than necessary. How long is too long? It depends on the nature of the decision. Will you miss an important opportunity by spending too much time thinking and hesitating? Could you lose something you want? Is the decision about accepting a job, buying a house, or traveling for a vacation? Spending too much time hesitating may cause you to lose the job to someone else, your dream house to another, and the vacation to discover a new country to pass you by.
Causes of Hesitation
Hesitation can be a personality trait, but you should not give in to it. Knowing the causes greatly helps in overcoming the problem. Here are the main causes of hesitation:
- Perfectionism: If you are one of those who seek quality and perfection in everything you do, you definitely spend a lot of time hesitating and thinking about the right decision.
- Pleasing others: Your desire to find out what others want and try to fulfill it to please them also consumes time.
- Overprotective parenting: If you grew up in a family that made decisions for you and didn’t give you the chance to decide, you may fear making decisions due to anxiety about failure or fear of your parents’ judgment.
- Lack of self-confidence: This makes you doubt the correctness of your decision and traps you in a longer cycle of overthinking than necessary.
Steps to Overcome Hesitation
If hesitation is a trait that accompanies you in most situations, you need to follow some steps to overcome it:
- Don’t be afraid: If you are stuck thinking and can’t make a decision, fear might be the reason. Identify your fears related to the situation, and imagine that all fears have disappeared — what decision would you make then?
- Control your emotions: When making an important decision, you might overanalyze, which complicates the process. Limit your decisions to a set time frame, rate each option, and then choose the highest rated one.
- Practice making small decisions: Practicing simple decisions like choosing what to eat or which store to buy your groceries from daily makes you more experienced and capable of making harder decisions.
- Trust yourself: Discover your strengths and try to use them when making decisions.
