Decide to Decide

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Andrew Yang was almost out the door for the weekend when his phone lit up. He glanced down at the screen, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the name. It was the law firm staffing coordinator who was sure to be doling out weekend projects.

Yang hesitated—he knew he was in an elite group when the prestigious law firm of Davis Polk & Wardell extended a job offer. It was the cherry on top for the son of Taiwanese immigrants who made hard sacrifices to get him into the best schools like Philips Exeter, Brown University, and Columbia Law. He was a lucky guy, even if he was over $100,000 in debt from law school.

There was just one problem: He hated his job, calling it “the five worst months of my life.” He said, “Working at a law firm was like a pie-eating contest, and if you won, your prize was more pie.” That’s why he decided to slip out the door instead of answering his ringing phone that Friday night.

Your Internal Wisdom is Always On

In the November series, Hack Your Day, we’re talking about how you can use wisdom to handle hard days. At 24, Andrew Yang didn’t have the life experience or knowledge necessary to map out every step of his career. What he did have was the insight to know that decades of work he hated wasn’t for him. He remembers, “I thought, Shouldn’t I be the one who builds something? That made more sense to me. . . I have no regrets about not picking up that phone.” Twenty years later, Yang is a multi-millionaire entrepreneur.

You may have made a choice that seems set in stone—you could be thinking, I said yes, so I have to stick with it. However, your internal wisdom is probably trying to get your attention. For instance:

• The way your shoulders go up around your ears every Sunday night is saying, “It’s time to go in a new professional direction.”
• The knot in the pit of your stomach is whispering, “It’s time to stop texting and have that conversation face to face.”
• Or, like Andrew Yang, the groan you make when you see your caller ID is urging you, “Hey—this isn’t for you. Let’s get outta here.”

Take the Decide to Decide Challenge

But what about feeling guilty about the commitment you’ve made? Well, if you made one decision, you can make another one! So, stop resisting what your gut is telling you and instead rely on the soft skill of healthy self-esteem. It’s how to stay true to yourself and be your own best advocate.

Here are three ways you can use self-esteem to hack your day:

• Make it fast by taking 30 seconds to declare, “My priorities may change and shift over time, and that’s all right!”
• Make it deep by taking 30 minutes to stop and listen to your body. Are your instincts trying to move you on to the next step?
• Make it real by courageously choosing a sunset date. You don’t have to make a choice today, but put a big “Decision Day” reminder on your calendar.

A steady stream of hard days is your instincts trying to talk to you. Don’t let anxiety or remorse keep you saying yes to situations that don’t fit. Be wise and decide that you will decide.