Sometimes there isn't an option without a downside

The idea

Some decisions are hard because there is no option that gives you everything you want.

You gain something and give something else up.

When that's the situation, looking harder for the perfect answer can keep you stuck. Instead of asking, “Which option has no downside?”, ask, “Which downside am I most willing to live with?”

Try this

1. Write down the realistic options, including doing nothing.
2. For each one, write down what you gain.
3. Then write down what you give up.
4. Choose the option whose downside you are most willing to accept.

Keep this

Sometimes the choice isn't about avoiding a cost. It's about choosing which cost to accept.

Why this helps

Changing jobs might give you more opportunity but less security. Spending more might make life easier but leave you with less money. Saying yes to one thing can mean saying no to something else.

None of those necessarily has a perfect answer.

If you keep searching for an option with all the benefits and none of the costs, you may be searching for something that doesn't exist.

Seeing that doesn't make the choice easy. It does make it clearer what the choice really is.