Caught in the “what if” spiral? 🌀
First, thank you 🫶🏻🤍✨
Last week, I sent more emails than usual while sharing about Pivot Point. That was very much on purpose. When you’re building something, sometimes you have to stay with it longer than feels comfortable.
And it worked. 28 (!!) new Pivot Pointers joined the community!
Now that the confetti has settled, I want to talk about something that’s come up in almost every leadership coaching session lately.
Making a decision before there’s actually a decision to make.
It goes something like this:
🟢 “Do I accept this job that’s not ideal, but I might get another offer somewhere else?”
🟢 “Do I give one team member some leeway, and risk causing drama with the rest?”
🟢 “Do I hold off on promoting my business? If I get too busy, I’ll need to hire support, and I’m not ready for that yet.”
All of these are built on ifs, not facts.
We tell ourselves we’re being “strategic,” but often, we’re just pre-stressing about futures that don’t exist yet.
🔵 We don’t know if those other job offers will land
🔵 We don’t know if dozens of clients will come in
🔵 We don’t know how the rest of the team will react
That doesn’t mean ignoring the future. Leaders absolutely look ahead. It just means we don’t let imaginary futures make today’s decisions.
Start with what’s actually on the table.
🟣 The offer in front of you
🟣 The real team member you’re managing
🟣 The business you’re building
The future is your runway, not your decision-maker.
How to Stop Making Decisions That Don’t Exist
Here’s a simple way to ground yourself in “what is” instead of “what if.”
Step 1: Say the decision out loud.
“What’s the actual decision I have to make today?”
You might realize you’re trying to decide between three potential futures instead of a real choice.
Step 2: Separate what is from what if. Grab a piece of paper and draw two columns: What Is | What If
List confirmed facts under What Is.
List maybes and hypotheticals under What If.
Most people realize their stress mostly lives in the “What If” column.
Step 3: Make the “What Is” decision first. Ask: “If I could only decide based on the ‘What Is’ column, what would I do?”
That’s your real decision. Everything else is planning.
Step 4: Turn your “What Ifs” into future checks. Instead of freezing, reframe them into readiness questions:
“If more clients do come in, what is the first support role I would add?”
“If I get another job offer, what 3 criteria will I use to compare?”
“If another team member has feelings about this, how will I communicate my choice?”
Now your what ifs are a playbook, not a prison.
Leadership Lessons from Sports: Call the Play in Front of you
Think about a good coach. The game is unfolding in real time. The crowd is loud. The stakes are high. A coach can’t call plays for a game that hasn’t started yet. They call the next play based on:
The score right now
Who is on the field right now
The patterns they actually see right now
Great coaches play for the long-term aka they study film, plan for injuries, and think about playoffs. But in the moment, they’re grounded in now.
Leaders need the SAME approach. Strategy and scenario planning matter. But when it’s decision time, you call the play based on the facts, people, and resources you have NOW, not the fantasy roster you might have next season.
Do that consistently and two things happen:
✅ You move forward instead of sitting in limbo.
✅ You gather real data and experience that make your future decisions smarter.
You do not become a more strategic leader by waiting for perfect information. You become one by making the best call you can with what you know now, then learning from it.
Cheering you on,
-Brittany