Decision-Making

Exploring the process and difficulties of making decisions and the flower essences that can help

Why is it sometimes hard to make a decision? Why do we sometimes feel exhausted when we have to make many decisions? Why are some folks chronically taxed by making decisions? There can be several causations for having difficulty making decisions.

Sometimes, when the options are difficult, there doesn’t seem to be one perfect choice. At other times, we may not feel ready to make a decision, but for any number of reasons we feel we must come to a decision right away.

There may be times when we can’t focus well on exploring the choices because we are too busy or overwhelmed by life. In other instances, we are not sure if our decisions are what we really want or if we are actually taking action on what others want for us instead.

We may not feel fully qualified or capable of choosing what is best for us. It may seem that someone else must know better than we do what would be the best course of action. Or, we are confused as to whether to be logical or follow what we feel might be right. But can we trust that the feeling we have is really guiding us, or is it false desire leading us astray?

Fortunately, there are a number of flower essences that can help with making decisions. Whether this is a chronic difficulty or only an occasional one, flower essences can help you sort out the best conclusion.

The Anatomy of a Decision

What is required in order to make a decision?

First, we need to define the situation and the options available to us. It can be very helpful to take some time to clearly look at what the situation is and why we need to make a decision before we move ahead into the territory of actually choosing a direction.

Claret Cup Hedgehog Cactus can help you find clarity and the ability to focus on whatever issue is demanding a decision. Sometimes, if you clearly look at the situation, the choices become obvious and the resolution clear right from the start. And you may even see that in fact, you don’t need to make a decision at all. Someone else may think so, but you can see clearly whether or not that is your reality.

Second, you need to know your purpose. Connecting with Purpose Formula can help you define your purpose relative to the situation. Is this something you even need to be involved with? Does it fit what you want for your life and the way you want to engage your time? Defining your purpose can often show you the answer you need. It provides a foundation for what is meaningful to you, which can often make a decision simple. If you are to weight your options, you need a scale. Knowing your purpose is like bringing out the scale. It is the foundation upon which all choices and decisions rest.

Third, you need to have an inner reference point that helps you know when you have reached the right decision for you. Birdcage Evening Primrose can help you find that inner reference point.

How many times have you wished that someone else would just come along and tell you what is right for you? Birdcage Evening Primrose helps you see that no one outside of you knows better than you what is right for you. Many of us were not properly trained to know that the answers lie within us. Yet it is never too late to find out that it is so.

Birdcage Evening Primrose can help you clearly discern that no one knows better than you what is in alignment with your unique soul pattern and purpose. It is helpful in making decisions that are in harmony with your inner nature. It helps you contact your own inner guidance so that you are not overly influenced by ideals or ideals that belong to others.

Torn between Head and Heart

Sometimes you want to make a decision and you know what it should be. It’s all perfectly obvious. However, when it comes right down to it, you hesitate and you are simply unable to commit to the decision that seems right. It could be that what your mind wants is not what your heart desires.

Ratany flower essence is wonderful in this type of situation, where you are pulled between going with your head or going with your heart. Sometimes the perfectly rational choice just doesn’t feel right, even though you think it should. Ratany helps you trust that your intuitive and feeling nature get a vote. Sometimes what is right for you is not obvious, and if you disallow these two subtle parts of yourself to give you information, you will make decisions that look right but are not in your best interest.

Ratany enhances your ability to recognize and communicate the truth in your heart. It fosters trust and confidence to follow your own truth.

Absolute Thinking

Sometimes we don’t want to make decisions because we don’t want to make the wrong one. I remember a time when I was 19 or 20 when I had to make a decision about what I wanted to do with my life. It seemed so overwhelming, whatever I chose seemed to be monumental. I was completely unable to choose what to do and this dilemma held me in its grip. It seemed to me that whatever decision I made was absolute. Somewhere out there was the right answer. I just needed to magically find it. But how?

Fortunately for me, I met a wonderfully supportive older woman who reasoned with me and ultimately gave me the foundation for great confidence. She said, “Whatever decision you make, if you discover that it is not the right decision for you, you can make another decision to change it.” This simple wisdom had a profound effect on me. I could make a decision and try something out! Decisions are not written in stone! What freedom from absolute thinking that gave me!

Thurber’s Gilia helps you move beyond the confines of the limitations you place on yourself. Besides being a great flower essence for dealing with fear, it helps you move beyond the limited boundaries your mind has created that keep you from seeing possibility. Anytime you either fear making a decision or have difficulty finding good possible solutions, consider using Thurber’s Gilia.

No Resolution

There is a flower essence that is a bit difficult to describe, but when folks who need it hear my feeble attempt, they understand it completely. The flower essence is Desert Broom and it helps when all of the inner parts of yourself are not lined up behind a decision.

This flower essence is for when you have made a decision, but something is standing in the way of taking action on it. Try as you will to take action, something inside you stops the movement.

It’s a kind of apathy but doesn’t include the lack of interest that word implies. It’s not so much that we are not interested in the issue at hand, rather that we are not in touch with our passion or enthusiasm for it. Desert Broom helps bring a subtle shift that connects us with the spark of readiness.

Desert Broom brings resolution.

Selecting the Most Appropriate Flower Essences

Not every flower essence mentioned above will be appropriate for every person’s specific needs. Different people have different issues. Usually, careful self-examination can clearly show you which of the above flower essences are most appropriate for you.

Though you can use more than one flower essence together, you probably will not need to use all of the ones mentioned here. After contemplating your relationship to this issue, select the flower essences that apply for you, or use an intuitive method to select among them. (For more information on how to do this, see The Art & Technique of Using Flower Essences.) A general guideline is to use four drops at a time, four times a day, in water. However, it is fine to follow your intuition and use them as often as you like. Most people find that they tend to use them more often in the beginning and less often towards the end of the cycle. Unless otherwise indicated, a cycle is usually two to four weeks. [more]

For information on how to clearly evaluate the effects of the essences you have used, see The Art & Technique of Using Flower Essences.

List of the Flower Essences Mentioned in this Article

Claret Cup Hedgehog Cactus

inability to clearly define the situation and see the options available to you

Connecting with Purpose Formula

not knowing your purpose or what is meaningful for you leaves you unable to recognize a good decision

Desert Broom

something standing in the way of taking action on a decision you have made

Ratany

your rational decision-making process does not include valuable feedback from your heart and feeling nature

Thurber's Gilia

inability to see possibility; entrapped in limitations your mind has created that keep you from seeing possibility; fear of making a decision

Birdcage Evening Primrose

an inability to know what is in alignment with your soul purpose; thinking that others know better than you what is best for you; seeking outside guidance when the answers you need are inside yourself