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2nd January, 2024

How to Decide if You Need to Stay or Leave a Difficult Situation

With Corrina Gordon-Barnes

Photo of Corrina Gordon-Barnes

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On this episode

Faced with a difficult situation, we often ask the question “should I stay or should I go?” It could be about work, a relationship, or something more personal. We all face this question at various times in our life, and it can be overwhelming to make a choice when we’re scared of the unknown.

This week, we’re revisiting a discussion with Corrina Gordon-Barnes, about how to tackle the decision-making process. Instead of relying on traditional methods like pros and cons lists or seeking advice from others, Corrina suggests a different approach, which involves noticing the difference between facts and thoughts, and recognising when we have the power to leave rather than simply tough it out.

When we keep ourselves trapped in the limbo of indecision, when we’re neither fully committed nor able to make a decisive choice, this can leave us frustrated and angry. Those frustrations can boil over into our home and work lives, or make an uncomfortable situation even worse.

But by taking a moment to reflect on our current situation, we can start the process of questioning and gaining clarity, therefore revealing the choices we do have.

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About the guests

Corrina Gordon-Barnes photo

Reasons to listen

  • To learn how to make difficult decisions when facing a dilemma of staying or leaving a situation, whether it’s work, relationships, or friendships
  • To understand the importance of questioning your thoughts and beliefs that may be causing stress and hindering decision-making
  • To discover a fresh perspective on decision-making and a simple technique to gain clarity and make informed choices

Episode highlights

00:04:13

The importance of belonging

00:06:42

Making a difficult decision

00:13:31

Separating fact from thought

00:16:26

Counteracting the “That’s just the way it is” story

00:21:57

Questioning your stories

00:28:58

Acceptance

00:33:05

Shoulds

00:35:36

You have a choice

00:44:33

What are the consequences of not doing what we “ought”?

00:49:03

Corrina’s top 3 tips

Episode transcript

[00:00:00] Rachel: As you hop into 2024, some of you may be making a new year’s resolution to sort your life out and by life. I mean work for many of us, the pan of water has been getting hotter and hotter, and now it’s near boiling point and we’re near breaking point, but we have no idea what to do. Now a frog only has two options available, jump out of the pan or stay and literally burn out. [00:00:22] But as you’ve heard me say once or twice on this podcast, you are not a frog. You have…

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