This article by Acharya Prashant explores the root of decision-making anxiety, specifically among the youth. It challenges the conventional idea that fear is an internal emotion, arguing instead that fear is almost always a byproduct of living by borrowed values and fearing social accountability.
The piece suggests that we worship what we don't understand (including our own fears) and that intellectual clarity is the only way to "conquer" these shadows.
He argues that because we live by criteria provided by society, parents, and institutions, we have no internal compass for what is "right," making every decision feel like a gamble.
Is our personality entirely constructed by the need for external validation?
Short excerpt from the article:
"We are actually afraid that the decision will prove to be ‘wrong’. Is it the decision-making that terrifies us or the thought that my decision may turn out to be wrong? My real fear is that ‘I do not know what is right and wrong. Because all my life I have lived according to the criteria provided by others. I have no understanding of how to live intelligently and how to decide for myself. Another reason that we feel afraid in decision making is that we feel accountable, we feel a certain obligation, we feel that if our decision is wrong, what answers will we provide to others? We are not really afraid of the event as such. Rather, we are afraid that what kind of face will we show to others?"
by Big_Confusion6957
1 Comment
I think this is true, but also kind of ironic, a lot of decisions feel heavy because no one is actually watching the outcome that closely.
We imagine this “judgment”, but most of the time people move on fast.
What helped me was having a small circle where decisions actually matter and people follow up.
Makes you think less and act more.