Too fast

 For those of us that find it difficult to make decisions (including Boris Johnson) the world is moving too fast. I have some sympathy with the Prime Minister; I know what it’s like to find decision making hard. 

If you are, like me and Boris, a natural procrastinator then it might be because there are too many options. How do you know if the thing you didn’t choose would be better?

Being of a similar mindset I was very sympathetic when he made his decision about backing Brexit by writing two articles. It’s exactly what I’d have done if it was my decision to make. 

People like us prefer decisions to be made for them (probably not a trait you want in a Prime Minister). We pretend that we are just easy going but really we are just vacillating between the options.

“Shall we have a take away?”

“Oh yes, we could, or I could cook. I don’t mind. What do you think?”

“You don’t want to cook do you?”

“Well no. I don’t suppose I do. Take away it is then.”

“What shall we have? Indian? Chinese? Turkish? Fish n Chips? Pizza?”

“Indian. No Chinese. Oh but that pizza is so good. You can’t go wrong with Fish n Chips, well you can, sometimes it’s awful. Turkish is nice but such big portions. Curry? Didn’t we have a curry last week? Pizza? So many choices. What do you fancy?”

“Well, I was thinking Chinese.....”

Interrupts, “Chinese it is then.”

“But Chinese makes me thirsty. I never sleep well when we’ve had Chinese.”

“Oh. What do you want then?”

“I don’t mind. You choose.”

Now, you are still left with four options. How do you choose? 

Half an hour later, the chip shop has closed and everyone is cross with you because you haven’t decided and they are hungry. Then someone mentions that the Mexican in town is now doing take away and the decision gets even harder. Life was so much more simple when it was Fish n chips or a curry. 

This kind of approach to decision making, where you wait for long enough for someone else to make the decision or for the other options to run our probably isn’t good enough for a pandemic, or Brexit but here we are. 

France have closed its borders and put us in quarantine (it’s almost like Countries in the EU had independent control over their borders, who knew?). Lorries are blocking most of Kent  which has one of the highest Coronavirus rates in the country. There’s  10 days to go until we leave the EU without a deal. Whatever you think about Brexit then you have to be cross at the wasted opportunity. The virus is out of control enough for other countries to be panicking. Our reputation is ruined. Every day there has been a new major shift and it’s impossible to keep up. 

Each decision not made spirals the country further out of control.

Stop it Julia! You are just being over dramatic. If you make decisions in this fatalistic way then you can’t stress about controlling the outcome. You just have to think that whatever happens, it will be. Stop looking at the big picture and just put one foot in front of the other. Look at the small things and breathe.

Here’s a soothing rainbow of berries that ended up in my pocket after yesterday’s walk.