A lot of times, when I’m mentoring folks, they’ll approach me with some binary choice that they’re struggling with. Should I do X or Y?

I’ll ask them to talk about each choice – what are the upsides, the downsides, etc. and there are obvious good and bad things about each choice, and it’s clear why they’re struggling.

But I’ll ask them a question, and it’s a surprisingly simple one, and the answer will often become instantly clear.

Here’s the thing – yes, there are good and bad elements in each choice. But “good” isn’t enough reason to do something. It has to be good AND aligned with your goals. While both choices often have equally good things, one choice is often significantly more aligned with the person’s goals. So the question is this:

“What do you want?”

Not just in the choice, but in general. What is it that you’re trying to do? What’s important to you? What do you need right now? What are your goals? Some people will spend a lot of time considering a job because it pays well, but if you ask them if they care about the money… they quite *suddenly* realize they don’t. They make enough. But they’re trained to chase the money, because there was a point where it *was* critical, and they haven’t stopped to think about whether that’s still the case or not.

But if you ask them what they want, and they say, “I want to fight for our climate future,” or “I want a job where I’ll be challenged and grow,” their choices become a lot clearer.

Take a moment and ask yourself what *you* want.

Good isn’t context-independent. Bad isn’t either. When you try to make a choice based on “good” too many things are good in too many ways, and paralysis occurs. If you think about what you want, you know *which* good to pursue, and *which* bad you need to avoid. Sounds simple, and it is. But it takes a second to step off the treadmill and think about your goals. It’s worth it. If all you do is focus on the treadmill, you’ll run in the same place the rest of your life.

Give it a shot.