Who’s Making Your Decisions? Permission to change your mind: Granted!
Have you ever changed your mind… and then judged yourself harshly for the pivot?
If you make a choice and decide later that you’re unhappy with that choice, you can change course, pivot, and modify.
This is true, even if the decision you made was reasonable at the time! You’re NOT chained to your decision for the rest of your days.
It’s okay to change your mind… but it probably doesn’t feel that way.
It can be hard to admit you’ve changed your mind when you’re afraid you’ll be rejected or abandoned by the ones you hold most dear. Culturally, we’re so averse to disappointing others that we forget that part of living authentically means reevaluating decisions, revising plans, and altering our points of view.
So let’s REFRAME.
What if changing your mind can be a powerful and liberating act that brings you closer to your truth?
Here’s an example: I changed my mind about sending Christmas cards this year.
With both confidence and clarity, I strongly declared that I would NOT be sending Christmas cards in 2024. But after careful introspection and a little heart-to-heart with myself, I realized that I actually wanted to send holiday greetings to people I love… so I flip-flopped and ordered 100 cards to sign and mail out!
In other words: To claw my way back into integrity (with myself), I HAD to change my mind.
I have no regrets about this pivot, but I have been feeling haunted about what people might “think.”
What might people think about me when they realize I changed my mind?
What might people say when they receive my card in the mail?
Who’s making your decisions?
As soon as you bring other people’s opinions into your thinking, you place a higher value on their judgments than on your own desires.
This is significant, because it means that instead of making decisions based on what you need… you’re instead making decisions based on what other people might think about what you’re doing (or not doing).
Here’s my point: Even if you could read another person’s mind, you can’t control their thought process.
You have no idea what influences another person’s thoughts OR which filters they use to make judgments.
And really? It doesn’t matter! What other people think about the decisions you’ve made is none of your business!
You don’t need permission to change your mind… but you might need a little boost.
Here’s a few reasons why it’s okay (and beneficial!) to change your mind -
It's not a sign of weakness: Changing your mind is not a sign of indecision or weakness. It takes great courage to make a new decision!
It's a way to mitigate cost: Making a different choice can help you avoid the cost of staying the course - whether that’s financial or emotional.
It's a way to remain flexible: Changing your mind demonstrates your ability to be nimble, flexible, and accepting of change - which is an incredible attribute to value.
It's a way to be authentic: To live in alignment with your highest purpose is to regularly recalibrate your actions to match your values. It takes practice!
It's a way to trust yourself: Can you trust your inner knowing in the face of the unknown? Again, this takes great courage and deep inner work (which is something we should all value more openly).
You can claim your integrity when you decide to pivot… you don’t owe anyone further explanation.
Perhaps this sounds silly from me here, as I’m providing an explanation. (Though I hope you’ve noticed: I didn’t explain WHY I’ve changed my mind… I’ve explained why it’s OKAY to change yours!)
You can claim your integrity with something as simple as -
"I've changed my mind about…”
“You know, on second thought…”
“Actually, I've had a change of heart…”
Life changes rapidly, and you will transform with the changes you experience.
Your transformation (and the fact that you’ve changed your mind) is a sign of your growth. It’s important to allow yourself to change your mind when necessary, because this is what allows you to curate the life that is perfect for you… in each moment.
Wishing you a month FULL of pivots, modified plans, and revised schedules that give you MORE of what you want this holiday season (and nothing less!)
Until next time,
💫 Andrea
P.S. Whenever you're ready to take the next steps along YOUR path to a well-lived life, I've got a handful of resources to help -
#1 Get on the waiting list for future NCR offerings that will help you practice and implement the Name, Claim & Reframe Method - one step at a time!
#2. Buy your copy of my best-selling book: Name, Claim & Reframe. Learn how to align with your divine feminine ingenuity with my 3-step strategy that will help you gracefully navigate your path to a well-lived life.
#3. Order the *new* Name, Claim & Reframe Workbook! Learn how to model resourceful, strategic, and graceful leadership by elevating the energy frequency of the room with the NCR Workbook - including practical tools you can implement right now.
Take my quiz and find out: What is your leading leadership energy?
