I'm Tired of Making This Decision

I used to think that being open-minded was always better than closing yourself off from new ideas and viewpoints, until now.

I second guess myself a lot.

For example, when it comes to creative strategy on Youtube, one day I’ll prefer a certain type of thumbnail for my videos, the next I’ll convince myself that I should opt for another style.

Each time, I truly believe that I’m right, that I’m making a smarter, more informed decision.

The issue is that today’s mind will always continue to second guess yesterday’s mind, and therefore sabotage tomorrow’s results.

No one decision of mine in this situation is technically correct, there are no correct answers.

However, there is a clear, identifiable downside to the ‘open-mindedness’ that I exercise here.

It’s that, no matter how long I spend making a decision today, I’ll probably spend time on that same decision tomorrow, and the day after that, ultimately creating decision fatigue.

In Psychology, decision fatigue is the idea that the more decisions you make in the day, the lower the quality decisions become later on.

Notably, in my case, I was getting fatigued from re-making the same decision again and again. Not only does that become tiring, but it also leads to poorer outcomes.

Every time I change ‘strategies’, I sacrifice consistency and therefore results. So, I’ve been trying to be stricter with myself by sticking to old decisions. By holding myself accountable for past decisions, I’m attempting to save time for my future self.

In other words, I’m trying to be selectively close-minded on decisions I’ve already spent time on so I can be more focused on those I haven’t.

Being open-minded is almost always the best option unless you’re dead confident that you’ve found the right answer. Then, close it off.