Girls Night #298: Why You Keep Second-Guessing Your Best Decisions (And How to Stop)
IN THIS PODCAST EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:
Why your uncomfortable feelings after big decisions don't mean you chose wrong
The 4 decision-making patterns I've identified in myself that keep me from undoing my best decisions
The science behind why understanding your emotional patterns leads to better mental health, stronger relationships, and more consistent decision-making
A 6-step practical action plan for trusting your decisions with confidence
(You can also listen right here!👇)
(Or watch the interview right here!👇)
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Hey friend! Welcome to Girls Night!
In today's episode, we're talking about why you keep second-guessing your best decisions and how understanding your emotional patterns can help you stop letting fear masquerade as wisdom.
I wanted to share this with you right now because this is something I'm leaning on heavily these days. We’re finishing up our year in Spain and I’m feeling big feelings about a lot of big decisions we’ve had to make recently. (I’ll tell you more about that in this episode.)
I’ll also tell you about the night before my family moved to Spain (a 15-year dream come true), I was sobbing in my brother-in-law’s guest room, convinced we'd made a terrible mistake. That fear almost cost us what became the most incredible year of our lives.
Sound familiar? If you've ever made a thoughtful decision only to immediately start spiraling about whether it was right, this episode is for you.
In this episode, we’ll also do a deep dive into what I call the "second-guessing trap" — that cycle where we interpret the natural discomfort that comes with big changes as signs we chose wrong.
You'll learn my four personal decision-making patterns (including my "pre-leap terror" that shows up before every major positive change), practical frameworks for distinguishing between "this feels hard because it's wrong" versus "this feels hard because it's new," and a 6-step action plan for building confidence in your choices.
Whether you're navigating career moves, relationship decisions, living situations, or family planning in your Everything Era, this episode will help you trust your thoughtful decisions even when the inevitable discomfort of change makes you want to second-guess yourself.
LINKS FROM THE SHOW
Previous episode with Kelsey about Spain
Girls Night Podcast rating/review page
Contact email - hello@stephaniemaywilson.com
Quotes mentioned:
"Your uncomfortable feelings don't mean you made the wrong decision. They usually just mean you made a big decision."
"The sadness, fear, and discomfort that follow big decisions aren't signs you chose wrong — they're signs you chose something that matters."
"The problem isn't that we're making bad decisions. The problem is that we don't understand our own emotional patterns well enough to distinguish between 'this feels hard because it's wrong' and 'this feels hard because it's new.'"
"I stopped letting temporary emotional states override thoughtful decisions I'd made from a clear headspace."
"Emotions are information, but they're not always an accurate indicator about whether we made the right choice."
"One of the biggest reasons so many of us have a hard time making positive changes in our lives is because it doesn't always feel that positive in the moment to do so."
"The goal isn't to eliminate all doubt or negative emotions around your choices. The goal is to understand your patterns well enough that you don't let temporary emotional states override thoughtful decisions you made from a clear headspace."
"This is what emotional maturity looks like: not the absence of difficult feelings, but the ability to experience those feelings without being controlled by them."
"You're more capable of making good decisions than your anxious moments would have you believe."
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