Peter Yin | Hurry up and decide

At the end of this summer, I am going to make a big decision, one that weighs heavily on many of my fellow classmates: the decision to pursue medical school, graduate school, or go straight into the workforce after graduation.

There is no impending, critical deadline I have to meet — I am a rising junior, and while some have solidified their future plans, the application deadlines are still a ways away. This is not a result of the societal and peer pressure to figure out our future plans that are driving kids to career services and resume workshops across college campuses.

No, this is a self-imposed deadline for my own sanity. By the end of the summer I will choose what I do after I graduate simply because I want to decide. I want to escape the uncertainty, the “on the fence” mentality and the need to answer with “I’m not sure, still figuring it out” when questioned about post-graduate plans by family and friends.

I am not alone. All of us encounter a myriad of decisions every day, whether big or small. From choosing our major or what classes to take to whether or not we should watch just one more episode of Gilmore Girls before going to bed, we all have to make decisions. It would seem that, with so much practice, decision-making should be a skill we have all mastered by now.

Wrong. Indecisiveness is something almost everyone encounters at one point or the other to varying degrees. Nobody wants to be indecisive, and the ability to make prompt, confident decisions and act on them not only saves you time and agony but also boosts your self-confidence and gives you the empowerment to take control to give yourself direction in life.

But some people say that being decisive is a trait, that some have it and others don’t. While it may come easier to some, I believe that decisiveness can be learned over time. I think that everyone can boost their confidence in decision-making with a little self-discipline. I experienced this during the past year when I was back and forth on whether I should stay in the Vagelos Program in Molecular Life Sciences or switch majors. There were clear advantages on both sides and I didn’t make progress until I made a conscious effort to make an ultimatum for myself. I would choose before the end of winter break, stick with my decision and not look back. So when the deadline approached, I had the ability to confidently choose to change majors.

However, some would say that this strategy would encourage making rash and hasty decisions. They would argue that making decisions before being 100 percent sure of yourself could lead to a wrong decision and regret in the future.

What they don’t realize is that for most decisions we make, we will never get to the point of being 100 percent sure no matter how many hours we ponder the pros and cons lists we make. Often, we end up being forced to make a decision by time or our peers.

At the end of the day, we have to ask ourselves, how much closer to a final answer are we really going to get with an extra period of uncertainty? For a big decision, if the choices have already been mulled over extensively, the pros and cons list read and reread religiously, then riding the fence is probably not going to get you very far.

Instead, why don’t we make the decision on our own terms?

In the case of low-risk decisions, as with most of the choices we make on a daily basis, this would mean that there would be no point to freeze up in indecision. For example, instead of wasting 30 minutes discussing where to go for dinner with your friends, be the one to make a decision and stick with it.

However, for big decisions — like the one I’ll be making at the end of the summer — the consequences are more daunting, and a decision won’t be made in one day or by a coin flip. Choosing post-graduate plans will focus my course selection for the next two years, along with my career outlook, so I will need time to reach a conclusion.

But the mentality should be the same. Instead of aimlessly hoping for the right answer to appear, give yourself a strict personal deadline — perhaps a summer or a semester to explore your options. Once you have a set time to digest your choices, you will be in better shape to make a decision, whether or not you feel 100 percent sure. Ultimately, I believe decisiveness is a personal choice, and this summer, I am going to choose to be decisive.

So take it upon yourself to be a little more decisive today. Who knows? It could lead to the best decision you ever made.

Peter Yin is a rising College junior from Ames, Iowa. His email address is peteryin@sas.upenn.edu. “Lost in Thought” runs biweekly during the summer.

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