Linda here.
Life is filled with decisions. Some small: what am I going to have for breakfast? Some more serious: what kind of car should I buy?
Some decisions are profound and life changing: getting married, having children, entering the military or changing careers. The decisions that change your life forever, are called vampire decisions.
In her book “Transformative Experience”
L. A. Paul makes the point that most of us are ill-prepared to make these big decisions. “You have no idea what you’re getting into”.
For example, having a child. Once the baby arrives, every aspect of the parents lives changes: their routine goes out the window along with their budget. They are exhausted. They report lower life satisfaction. Yet few parents can imagine ever going back to their pre-child days. Their new lives would have seemed unbelievable to their old childless selves.
A transformational decision may be seen as a calling rather than a choice. I was born to do this, or We were destined to be together.
When making transformational decisions, people often ask, what will this new experience do to and for me?
Vampire decisions (like vampire bites) change your world forever. Better questions might be, will doing this make me a better person? Will it give me more courage, more patience or more joy? What can I do to ensure this decision will give me the outcome I desire?