Navigating Conflicting Emotions Around Big Decisions

Big decisions are tough.

I was speaking with one of my clients who was considering letting a director go.

There was a clear mismatch of values between the director and the school.

Everything the owner had tried to get the director on track had failed.

And yet if she fired the director, the owner would have to expand her workload. She would get stuck doing all the director’s tasks, even though she was already tired. Plus, she would have to go through the exhausting process of hiring a replacement.

It all sounded like too much.

While she knew there was a discrepancy in values, she was considering continuing to put up with it.

I invited her to journal about the situation.

On the left side of her page, I asked her to write “What do my fear and my ego say?”

On the right side of her page, I asked her to write, “What does my higher self say?”

She spent some time expressing her thoughts on paper.

It gave her the clarity she needed: it was vital that she let the director go.

After journaling, she had so much more clarity, assurance, poise, and ease around the decision and the challenging conversation to follow.

Journaling is one of the great strategies I use for managing the challenging—and often conflicting—emotions that come up when we have to make big decisions.

In this week's podcast episode, I discuss additional methods of navigating complex emotions while we’re in the decision-making process.

Join me for a conversation about:

• How mindfulness can impact your ability to make wise decisions
• A calendaring strategy that encourages decision breakthroughs
• Why speedy decision-making doesn’t correlate to intelligence or wisdom
• Ways to assess when you need to make the decision

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/ 

Decision-making is a key leadership skill that isn’t as intuitive as it sounds. For continuous coaching and support, I encourage you to apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

Are you facing a big decision right now? Are you looking for support as you make a significant shift? During a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive, you'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team build a stronger, healthier center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life. 

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.