Two of Swords: Choice, Indecision or Decision Fatigue?

“I can’t make a right choice for making a wrong one?”

“What’s the point of choosing, it’ll just end up the same?”

“I can’t choose, what do you think I should do?

If you’re wondering why you can’t make you mind up or it’s taking you ages to decide on the right course of action, you are experiencing a Two of Swords moment.

For those of you unfamiliar with the card, it’s traditionally a blindfolded figure sitting with two swords and sometimes two paths in front of them. It’s also a traditional representation of a choice to be made but I think it runs much deeper and from a coaching perspective it speaks of our inability to make choices, our chronic indecision and how decision fatigue can sweep over us.

But how did making a choice get so difficult in the first place? When did you become so unsure of our own judgement? At what point did you start to seek out lots and lots of validation before you even started.  You see indecision has a sneaky way of appearing in our lives in the small things, ever stood in front of a shelf in a supermarket stuck over biscuits or asked lots of friends what they would do before making a decision, relying on those answers is a definite sign indecision has become paralysis.

The figure in the Two of Swords card is blindfolded, they appear unable to see the road ahead but really the blindfold is of our own making, we allow fear to creep in clouding our ability to see what's in front of us. Soon we think it’s better to accept the blindfold and make half-hearted decision than it is to do that in clear sight. Nowadays there choices everywhere, those choices can feel loaded with the potential to make a mistake, it’s no wonder we don’t want to make them.

In a Tarot coaching session the context of the Two of Swords would play a major role, were it fits in with the other cards chosen and how it matches your energy. However the underlying energy of the card remains the same, that two energy implies change and that change is vital. So it’s time to dig deeper and look at what’s stalled the change and what can take the two to three and three to four and so on, the choices you make at this stage will determine what future choices you get to make.

But what if there was another way of looking at this, in my Druid Craft tarot the paths ahead don't look dissimilar, both lead off in the same direction. The trees on either side don’t look any less dark or dangerous so the mental block is very clear, it's what we feel and how we project our fears and unknowns onto that decision that keeps us stuck.

So let's look at it another way what if there were no right or wrong choices, would have faith in yourself to turn things around if you needed to? Knowing that nothing is permanent and every day is a step forward or a step in a different direction never backwards.

Something else to think about too and running contrary to lots of advice is many people agonise over decisions that will affect the long term future but that’s some way off and something that could be changed by a million different factors. What do you want to happen on a shorter term basis that would still take you in the same direction as the long term goal, sometimes we are two three and four jumps ahead of that first initial decision and we're making decisions about things when we haven't even taken that first choice into context.  I would suggest you look at a short term decision that will still take you in the right directions, but more importantly what needs to happen right now for things to change, what will move the needle in a way that breaks your indecision and makes you feel good about moving on to the next step. Even if the path ahead is really unclear and possibly even so dark you can't see your way forward with or without a blindfold what moves the needle now?

If the issues around decision making come from a place of self- doubt, maybe you've made terrible decisions in the past and you're worried that history is going to repeat itself then it's time for some honesty.

What were the circumstances that led you to make those choices was everything really in your control? Could you have known about the possible outcome, did you ignore your intuition and go with someone else’s idea? Look to see if there are any patterns in your decision making that you would be keen to avoid in the future.      We are our worst critics the best thing you can do is hold off on the criticism, ask some honest questions, and see if the answers can help you work things out in a more helpful way.

Decision's ultimately come down to your bigger vision of how you think your life should look what changes are you striving to make do these choices take you any closer to that maybe you need completely new options and that's why things don't seem appealing at this moment in time.

Coaches talk a lot about alignment it's a fancy word and sounds almost too magical but really what they're talking about and what I like to talk about is to line up your decisions in a way to serve how you want to live and how you want to feel and that’s one choice that won’t be difficult.