Forgive Yourself Before You Decide
Layoffs, Breakups, Divorce, Career Shifts and the Weight of Control Some decisions come with a known cost before they are made. Layoffs affect people’s income and stability. Breakups and divorce change relationships and family dynamics. Career shifts alter time, focus, and financial direction. Reducing time with family introduces real tradeoffs. In all of these situations, the decision itself is usually clear. The hesitation comes from trying to manage everything that will happen after it. One of the pillars of my Paint It Red Philosophy is the control bias. The focus is on separating what you can control from what you cannot. When that separation is ignored, you start taking responsibility for outcomes that are outside your influence, and that is what creates the weight. Across all of these decisions, the pattern is consistent. You can control the decision, the reasoning behind it, and how you communicate it. You cannot control how others react, how they interpret it...