Choice System

So far this year, I’ve been working through a process of shaping new pathways within my practice. Setting goals, contacting new people, and getting stuck into new projects and collaborations. And, so far, so good…

One of the most important parts of this process has been to decide what is ‘in’ and what is ‘out’. Of course I have my list of goals for 2012, but sometimes opportunities present themselves without solicitation and it’s crucial to be able to choose when to say ‘yes’ and when to say ‘no’. Sometimes it is easy to recognise opportunities which allow growth and fulfilment and other times distractions pose as opportunities and take us away from our goals.

Recently, I came across a good little article about making choices and how to tune into your gut feelings when you’re finding it hard to commit to a project. Candidly penned by DesignSponge founder, Grace Bonney, it provides a helpful checklist of questions to ask when you’re stuck on making a decision – when you find yourself weighing things up in your mind and trying to make choices fit, when actually they don’t.

Grace asks:

1. Am I excited about this project?

2. Is this a good fit for who I am and what my practice is about?

3. Is this project going to give me a skill, financial gain or opportunity that is worth working for?

4. Is it a balanced/equal partnership?

5. If I need to, am I willing to give something up to make room for this project?

For me, the first question is crucial. If I am not truly excited and passionate about the project, then I have to walk away. If the passion is not there, the project will reflect that and at the end of the day, life is short, so why would I want to be working on a project that doesn’t really engage me? This may sound obvious, but sometimes other points of reference in our decision making steer us off course and it’s important to remember what it is we really want to be doing…