On Decisions: One-Way Streets vs. Revolving Doors
Not all decisions are created equal, but we treat them like they are. We overthink. We stall. We wait for certainty that doesn’t exist.
Why?
Because we’re treating every decision like a one-way street.
But most of them aren’t.
There are two types of decisions: one-way streets and revolving doors. Knowing the difference changes how you move.
One-Way Streets
One-way streets are permanent. They fundamentally change the shape of your life.
For me, that was deciding to have kids.
My husband and I put it off for a long time, not because we didn’t want it, but because we understood what it meant. This wasn’t something you could undo. It was a one-way street.
And when we finally decided, it was because we were ready to give up who we were before to become who this next chapter required.
I remember bringing our baby home from the hospital and thinking: We are her world. She needs us for everything. That level of responsibility rewires you. It should. That’s a one-way street.
Those decisions deserve weight.
But most of the decisions we spiral over?
They’re not that.
Revolving Doors
Take starting Archie.
I treated it like a one-way street. I thought: this has to be the thing. It has to work.
That kind of pressure doesn’t create momentum, it kills it.
Then a mentor reframed it: give yourself 18 months. Define a milestone or two that would make you want to keep going. Stay in the revolving door.
I didn’t quit my job. I started building in the margins. The time confetti hours. Writing. Designing. Setting up the brand, the product, the legal, the banking. Piece by piece.
And here’s what that gave me: momentum without recklessness. Clarity without forcing certainty. Progress without lighting my current life on fire.
That’s the power of a revolving door.
You can move forward, and still have a way back.
Most People Mislabel the Decision in Front of Them
The problem is, most people mislabel the decision in front of them.
They treat reversible decisions like they’ll define them forever.
So they stay exactly where they are… and call it “being thoughtful.”
It’s not. It’s fear with better branding.
Instead, try this:
Ask yourself: “What kind of life will I have to live on the other side of this decision?”
Then ask, “What’s the worst case scenario?”
Because if the worst case is that you end up right back where you are today… you’re not risking as much as you think. Put differently: If your worst case scenario is returning to your current life, then you’re already living your worst case scenario.
You can’t unhear that.
Don’t let fear convince you every door only opens once. Some decisions deserve reverence. Most just require discerning between a one-way street and a revolving door. And the people who build lives you admire? They’re not always braver. More often than not, they just know which doors they can walk back through… and then they go.
