You have done so much so far, and you are not done yet! Your 5 year-old you doesn’t know any better, but your current you does, so a time out seems perfectly appropriate!

Thanks for sharing!

I love to hear that you plan to make the choice yourself, and not just let it happen. It is YOUR life, and YOU have to (or better yet, GET to) make your own choices.

I like the way you are going about it — lists help. I will share 2 things I do that sometimes work for me — and they may or may not be helpful to you. The first I learned from my husband. It’s as easy as flipping a coin, except that the coin toss doesn’t make the decision — you do. I pick one of the choices to be heads, and one to be tails, then I flip the coin. But the important thing is to be very aware of your gut feeling when you see the choice — don’t think about it, just note it. Are you thrilled when heads comes up, or disappointed? That may help you tap into your intuition (or inner knowing, or gut, or whatever you call it).

The other thing I do also taps into my intuition. I can ask for a dream about it, or ask a question (either a specific question, or something more general like a request for more info that I may need to make the best decision) and be still for a bit (take a walk or meditate) and see what comes up from that.

I guess the bottom line is to listen to your own gut, inner wisdom, intuition, or whatever you want to call it. I offer it up not as something that will work for everyone, but as something that works for me and may help you.

Know that whatever you decide, it will be right for you!