Most people who are stuck are not short of information. They have read the advice, asked their friends and built the spreadsheet. What they lack is a way to turn all that information into a choice they can act on.
Two options are common in Ghana: a job offer in Accra or a role closer to home, a business expansion or keeping things steady, a move abroad or staying with family, a new relationship decision or waiting. The stakes feel high, so the mind keeps looping. A framework gives the loop an exit.
This is a framework you can use alone. It is a starting point, not a verdict on your life.
Step 1: Write the decision as one sentence
Write the decision in a single sentence, with both options named and a deadline if there is one:
“By Friday, I will either accept the Accra role or keep my current job and negotiate a remote arrangement.”
If you cannot write it in one sentence, you may be carrying two or three decisions at once. Split them and work on the first.
Step 2: Separate the facts from the fears
On a sheet of paper, draw two columns. In the left column, write only facts you could check: salary, commute time, contract terms, the number of months of savings you have. In the right column, write the worries: “I will fail”, “my family will be disappointed”, “I will regret it”.
Worries are not wrong, but they are not data. Keep them, and ask one question for each: what would I need to know or do to reduce this worry? Some worries become tasks. Others become acceptable risks.
Step 3: Ask whether the choice can be undone
Many decisions feel permanent, but a large share are not. Ask:
- Is this a one-way door? Leaving a relationship, signing a long lease or relocating your family may be hard to reverse.
- Is this a two-way door? Trying a new schedule, a short course or a trial project can usually be stepped back from.
Two-way decisions deserve a trial rather than a long debate. One-way decisions deserve more time, more information and sometimes an outside opinion.
Step 4: Rank your values, not your options
Make a list of five things that matter most to you in the next two years. Examples include financial security, time with children, faith commitments, creative work, health, learning or stability. Rank them in order.
Now test each option against the top three values. Be honest. An option that looks attractive but breaks your top value is usually not the right option, however good the pay.
Step 5: The ten-ten-ten check
Ask how you would feel about each option in ten minutes, in ten months and in ten years. This is a simple prompt, not a prediction. It helps you notice whether the strongest feeling is short-term relief, short-term fear or a longer-term conviction.
Step 6: Run a seven-day test
Choose the option that looks stronger after steps one to five and set a seven-day test. This could be:
- speaking to one person who has done the thing you are considering;
- spending two hours researching the practical requirements;
- writing an email to the employer, landlord or partner asking for the one piece of information you are missing; or
- setting aside one evening to imagine a week in the new situation and noting how you feel by the end.
At the end of the week, write down what you learned. If the test showed a clear problem, you have a better decision. If it showed nothing new, you may be ready to commit.
When a decision needs a second pair of eyes
Sometimes the framework does not break the deadlock. You may be too close to the situation, or the decision is tangled with other people’s expectations. A structured conversation with a coach can help you test your reasoning, clarify your values and agree a practical next step.
Our Decision Clarity Session is one focused hour, from GH₵400, with a short written summary of your options and a recommended next step. There is no obligation to continue. If a longer engagement would genuinely help, we will say so after the session, and we will not recommend one if it is not useful to you.
If the decision is linked to a crisis, a risk to your safety, or symptoms such as persistent low mood, panic, or thoughts of harming yourself, please speak to a doctor, a counsellor or a trusted person now. Coaching is not therapy and is not a substitute for medical or mental-health care.
Book a Decision Clarity Session
Coaching outcomes are not guaranteed. The framework above is general information to support your own thinking.