Opinion
Indecision useful in everyday life
February 7, 2008
“Indecision is the key to flexibility.”
I never thought my first column would spark off a quote from the back of a Hooter’s post-meal wet-nap.
Some people could successfully argue that being indecisive is a negative quality. And for some indecisive people, it could be.
Until I read the package of the horrible smelling hand-sanitizing wipe, I thought my case of indecision was a curse of something similar to year-round allergies. All too often I’m caught answering “It doesn’t matter” or “whatever you’d like.” And although these phrases are usually delivered to a friend or significant other, I sometimes find myself saying them to people doing their job when serving me: “How would you like your change”—what ever’s easiest for you. “What kind of toppings would you like?”—surprise me. “How do you want your hair cut?”—what do you feel like doing?
The thing I like about being indecisive is the amount of situations I’ve been through that may have not been my initial choice. If life is made up of roads and paths, my life map looks like a bad case of spider veins on your grandmother’s legs. And even by recklessly spinning off-road, I’ve discovered strange tastes that are incredibly appetizing. And through all the variety, the intensity of my appetite has become immense.
Indecision actually helps shape who an individual is. He or she discovers new ways of doing things aside from the “norm;” depth is amplified and the individual is increasingly interesting (ask an indecisive person about his or her strangest/most awkward/most incredible moment).
I have a slightly difficult time shopping. The problem is that I just cannot pick out clothing for myself anymore because it’s just ... lame. So instead, I walk into a store, find the ugliest clothing possible, try it on, and usually fall in love with it. And I’ve gotten to appreciate not judging clothes on a hanger before I’ve tested them out.
Indecisive people can be taken anywhere and presented with just about anything. But it takes others’ help to get them there. So for your best partner-in-crime/sidekick, pick someone who doesn’t know what they want. If you’re the indecisive individual, join in the fun-but try not to become a push over.
Eventually, indecisive people turn into flexible individuals through experience and expertise. And they figure out what they appreciate most because of all they’ve encountered (as if they’ve used a bracket system for weighing all the options) by trying new ideas and having different thoughts, making better-informed decisions.
And maybe indecision and flexibility works for you, maybe it doesn’t. I’m definitely rocking indecision and flexibility, and chances are, by the time I perish I’ll have more stories under my belt than that person who has his or her life seriously organized and planned out in specific detail.
-Abby is a marketing communications major and hasn’t yet decided if she will double major in journalism.
Abby Maliszewski is a student at UW-River Falls.