Photo: Thinkstock

Maybe it's because I'm a Libra but I've always had a hard time making decisions (or maybe none of that astrology stuff is real, I can't decide). Big life-changing decisions I can make in the blink of an eye. It's the little things that get me. For example, I am tortured by menus, only to immediately, inevitably regret whatever it is I've ordered. And then there is the matter of light fixtures. To wit, the fan that until quite recently was attached to the ceiling of my kitchen.

Every day we squinted up at it. It was kind of ugly, like an aggressively modern, metallic stalactite. It kind of looked like The Terminator if The Terminator were a ceiling fan. Then it stopped working properly, sometimes just randomly shutting off. So that was annoying (and, we didn't realize, ominous)."We should replace it," I'd say, decisively. "Wait, maybe we should have someone look at it. I mean, it's already up there. Wait. No, we should get a new fan. Wait, no, I know, just a light." I was going to decide what to do, soon. Eventually. Weeks passed.

Then the ceiling fan burst into flames.

After the fire department left, after the charred hunks of fan were disposed off, after the soot was scrubbed from the ceiling, after every one was settled back at home, safe and sound, after we'd counted our blessings and told ourselves how much worse it could have been and how actually lucky we were, my husband knew just what to say to make me feel better about the whole thing: "Well, at least that makes that decision easier."

It was true. But it got me thinking. While it was, um, decisive, this was not actually probably the best way to make a decision. What other choices am I putting off, to everyone's detriment? What else in our lives is ticking away, waiting for us pick one way or another? Let's assume that every procrastinated decision will not resolve itself in a ball of fire...but you never know. Better to just take down that ceiling fan, or whatever it is in your life, and move on. As a wise man I know likes to say, "There is making the right decision...and then there is making the decision right." Which is why I decisively love my new, simple non-exploding kitchen light.

Read More:
7 Steps To Making Better Decisions
Decision-Making for a Stronger Life