You know what my problem is? I spend too much time thinking and dawdling and swaying and not enough DOING. I’m such an ineffective lump that I just spent nearly two hours online looking up magnetic boards. Magnetic boards! As in slabs of metal. Ooooh, Pottery Barn has a nice slab of metal. Oh, The Container Store has a slab of metal, too. Let’s see what Apartment Therapy has to say about metal of the slab sort. And did I buy any of them? Of course not. Because I can’t make decisions and therefore will never be successful at life.
Yes, I’m using my shopping habits to explain why I’m a major FAIL. Remember when I was trying to decide whether to get a Blackberry or iPhone and I asked the internet for help and the internet graciously offered their thoughts and then never heard back from me again? Yeah. That’s because I still can’t decide. How lame! And then remember that other time when I was considering invisalign? Well, here I am, still … considering. With still-effed-up teeth.
OK, so maybe I just don’t like spending. That’s a good thing, I suppose. But it’s not just shopping. It’s everything. Remember a couple weeks ago when I decided wholeheartedly to follow a certain life path and you showered me with kind words of support? Well, in the past few days, I kind of shifted my thoughts and visions and enthusiasm to the OTHER PATH. My brain can do that sort of thing. It’s amazing. I feel embarrassed, though, about my dramatic announcements. You can totally have your comments back.
There are so many things that I need to do to get my act together and I’m just not doing them. I’m stalling. I’m scared. I mean, I have ideas. Believe me, I have ideas. But who cares if they just sit there chillin’ in my little head?
You know why I want a magnetic board anyway? I want to create an inspiration wall in my room, you know, with You Go Girl-type quotes telling me to do what I need to do. And if I ever get to it, I’m sure that project will distract me from actually doing those things I need to do, but hey, at least I’ll have a pretty slab of metal.
Perhaps you should enlist an accountability minder? Someone to whom you give full permission to kick your butt into gear once you’ve made a decision about a plan of action? I dunno. I’ve been doing that a lot lately: New York! SF! NY! SF! Um. Boston? Florida? WTH.
G’luck, I don’t know what I’m talking about either. I just know that change needs to happen, dammit.
Note that after the magnetic board search, you proceeded to blog about the search instead of purchasing the board.
I predict your next action will be replaying to the comments on the post about the search.
have you tried setting dates for your decisions? sometimes, that helps me out.
but it’s not anything to get majorly upset about, decisions deserve proper thought and consideration, so keep taking your time!
Are you by chance a pisces? We are very wishy washy that way. I once made a collage of motivational sayings like that and hung it in my room where I could see it every morning when I woke up. If it doesn’t help, it’s still fun to make. And don’t worry, the bloggie friends are here for you no matter what you decide.
Heart! I love that you have a wall of You-Go-Girl quotes! That makes me smile and smile!
I 100% identify with this post. I’ve tried so hard to stop myself from telling people about things before I do them, but I always fail. I’ve also tried so hard to FORCE myself to do things once I’ve told people… I generally fail at that, too.
On the bright side: we dream big and we’re open to change. Those are good things. Your weaknesses are just the excess of your strengths.
I completely know what you mean!
Did you decide between Matt and that other boy you’re dating yet?
LOL at Randall’s comment. You know what gets me to make a decision on a car, redoing office, buying furniture? A breakup. I’m not suggesting that at all, but that certainly whipped my butt in gear (remember new job after vacuum boy)?
You need to be more compulsive like me. Start with shopping. We rarely regret getting what we like. Just do it.
BTW, did you hear about all the Republic layoffs? Google the story. No one we know, or at least I know. I checked in – and that’s prob why KE left, they announced a 10% cut in October so other people could start looking for jobs. Craaaazy.
Yeah, did you decide between me and the other guy? It’s the waiting that’s killer. Maybe if I get you a vacuum cleaner for Christmas it will help you decide.
You should get it for her for Valentine’s Day, that’s the BEST day to get something like that!
Revanche: That’s an awesome idea.
Todd: Wow, you know me pretty well.
thatShortChick: I do have deadlines to make certain decisions. So that’s good.
Vanessa: I’m a Scorpio. That’s funny though. I did wonder if this trait was somehow zodiac-related. Or related to the fact that I’m an INFP.
HBee: You should do one too!
Laurie: “Your weaknesses are just the excess of your strengths.” I LOVE LOVE LOVE that.
Jamie: Aw. Yay.
Randall, m@ and Di: I’m waiting until Christmas to decide. :)
It sounds more like you’ve fallen in the trap of being much more excited about the thinking about doing things rather than the actual doing of things. This of course stems from a simple fear that the outcome will fall short of the buildup you have created, so then you just keep building it up and then keep not doing anything and creating this vortex of fail which does nothing but make you be unnecessarily hard on yourself.
I don’t have any other advice than to say snap out of it (because I’m quite prone to this myself). When you know you want to make a decision, give yourself a firm time limit of how much you will think about the options and then make a decision at the deadline. And don’t look back! Be bold! No one has ever died because of their choice of magnetic board!
(but you know, keep the receipt, you’re not stupid)
Sorry, long comment. But I also wanted to add that although no one has died from a magnetic board purchase, no one’s life has been dramatically changed for the better either. So there is the chance you are expecting too much from your decisions and thus stall. An iPhone will not change your life. The blackberry is just a phone with a qwerty keypad. Neither of them says anything about you as a person. This is not a marriage, you will want something different in 2 years so get the one with the better monthly bill which is really what will affect you. Actually, you can probably base your decision on Matt or the other guy along these lines as well. ;)
Get out of my head! I’m resistant to decisions too. Joe tells me I’m the worst! And I’m a big time waster :( How do we fix this Michelle???
oh my gosh, i know exactly how you feel!! i can never fully make up my mind! when i make my decision i usually imediately regret it and wish i could go back and chose the other option! it sucks cause you’re always thinking what if?
Hi Mish. I can related sorta to what you are going through. Actually, I think I might. I am wishy washy as well. However, my indecisiveness stems from fear. Like you, I question myself because I am scared. But I’m trying to change my thinking to this: Life is too short. We are not young anymore. I will not let the decisions in my life be guided by fear. Balls to the wall.
I love your blog so much.
All I have to say is: ohmigosh,metoo!