How to Be Decisive

YOU COULD USE A MAGIC 8 BALL TO HELP YOU MAKE A CHOICE. OR, WHILE YOU'RE WAITING TO "ASK AGAIN LATER," LET OUR EXPERTS EXPLAIN THE BEST WAYS TO GET UNSTUCK.

- Olivia Evans

Imagine if every time you're struggling to make a decision, a giant, colorful wheel appears before you. On each tab, YES or NO is written in bold letters. Like clockwork, it pops up whenever you feel stuckyour own personal wheel of fortune, only it never asks you to buy a vowel.

If you are me, you already exist in this reality, and you're currently hoping the wheel lands on YES. I've just asked the website Wheel Decide whether I should order Thai for dinner. The virtual whirligig claims to be the "ultimate decision maker," and, considering the website is pinned to the favorites tab on my phone's Internet browser, I tend to agree.

Decision-making has never been my strongest muscle. It's not that I dislike making decisions, but I always fear I am making the wrong choice-even with something as simple (seemingly) as dinner. What if I order food and it takes forever to arrive? What if I regret what I order and end up just wasting money? What if this so-called inconsequential decision actually has serious lifelong consequences? When worst-case scenarios start to stack up in my mind, the Wheel Decide website takes away the pressure.

Like flipping a coin, spinning the wheel gives me insight into what I actually want, or a reprieve when I really don't know what to do. My instinct to go to the website isn't about having a choice made for me, but about seeking out a place to pause and evaluate.

Granted, I don't need to use the virtual wheel in every situation-I make plenty of decisions daily without its help when I do, it's usually because I feel stuck.

WHY DECISION MAKING IS SO HARD