When I was a child, we used to make origami fortune tellers. You can learn how to make and use one here.
As an adult, I’ve found these little doodads are quite handy tools for making decisions. It’s perfect for, “Do I want to go to the Italian bistro on the corner or that new Thai place downtown?” where all options are good ones. It’s a variation on eenie-meenie-miney-moe.
Random methods like this might seem absurd for bigger decisions, but I’ve noticed that they hold the key to something that has enormous value in your decision making, even for the really major choices.
Here’s how it works:
- Make your fortune teller.
- Inside the flaps, write your options. If you don’t have 8 options, you can repeat some or have a “do over” section to fill a blank space.
- Do something fairly random like spelling out every letter of your full name. As you say each letter, move the fortune teller in and out. After saying the last letter, pick a flap to open. Whatever is written beneath the flap is your decision.
“WHAT?!” you say, “Decide the future of my life randomly using a child’s toy? Hrrmph!” and off you go. Well, hold on a minute. There’s one last step, and it’s critical.
- Notice your response to the decision. Some part of you was secretly hoping for one of the options instead of the others. What is it saying now that the fortune teller is giving you a decision?
You have not been listening to that part of yourself or you wouldn’t be playing with a silly fortune teller trying to make a colossal decision like this. If you had been listening, you would already know what to do. What is that little voice telling you?
Once you acknowledge the existence of the part of you that knows what to do, you may need to ask, “Why have I avoided hearing what this part of me has to say?”
Maybe this decision would complicate your life. Maybe your best friend has already said she thinks it’s a dumb idea. Maybe it’s terrifying. Or maybe, even though you do have a preference, you still have a strong attachment to the other options as well. Big decisions usually do involve some type of loss.
Figuring out what has held you back in making this decision can help resolve your indecision and move you forward. But hearing your inner voice has just launched you 90% of the way there. As a friend once said, “The duodenum never lies.”
For some very amusing entertainment that explains why the fortune teller decision-making method can work, watch this video by Tim Brownson:
Do these ideas ring true for you? Please share your thoughts and experiences by leaving a comment.
Originally posted on February 11, 2010
