A common situation I come across in helping students with careers choices is the problem of making a decision. There are times when a student and his parents disagree. There are those students whose ideas of a career do not match their capabilities or personalities. But more often it is something along the lines of, “I have no idea what I want to do. How do I choose?”I approach this by doing an interest inventory. Together, the student and I, take those results and narrow down the career field into a manageable list of career that are similar and the student is excited about. Then we can begin to look at what post-secondary training is necessary. The next worry is, “What if I change my mind?” Of course, this is a normal thing to worry about. I have changed my mind, I remind them. There is a strong evidence that they will too.

Unfortunately, the student commonly falls back into a state of anxiety. A decision has to made eventually. How does he choose between general studies programs? How does he keep his options open, just in case?

While I understand that this anxiety is normal, I never have been sure how to deal with the idea of wanting to be flexible. It seems like a reasonable thing for a person to do. Until I read a recent article.

The authors, Shin and Ariely, investigate the idea of keeping options open. They look at finding out why people want to do this, is it out of a desire for flexibility or are they avoiding the pain of loss? Is it a rational decision? Is it “dangerous”?

The results of their study, in which they investigate how people choose different options with different values, show that people tend to overvalue options that seem like they will disappear. People will invest significant energy trying to keep options available even when the option is known to be of lower value than the situation they are currently in. People are motivated by an aversion to loss. They would rather loss and option. It is not about a rational desire for flexibility but a gut response to fear.

This can be seen in a high school setting when students take many courses to get a “general” education but the extra work does not allow them sufficient time to master any of their studies. Students spend lots of time visiting many colleges and doing lots of research in a way of avoiding simply choosing two or three to apply to. They postpone starting college because they just cannot decide.

It appears that it is important address this anxiety with the understanding that it is not a rational decision despite the statements. Getting the student to talk through the decision pushing them toward the edges of their fear of loss. Ask them what they are afraid of losing. Try to clarify the consequences of the decision they are facing throughout the spectrum of perfectly successful to worst – case scenario. Show them that there are always options and choices that can be revisited and rarely is a career choice a once in a lifetime opportunity.

It is just like counseling in other areas. It comes down to the same basic human emotions we all have.