A little over a year ago, my husband received word that his company, who had contracted with him as an independent sales rep for over 20 years, would be switching his role to ‘employee.’  

There were several implications for him in that kind of a shift.

He used to pay for the entirety of his gas, hotels, and food when he travels. 

He would now be reimbursed for all three. 

He used to be responsible for his own insurance and retirement benefits. 

He would now be offered a benefit package. 

He used to be compensated solely by a large percentage of his sales paid to him as commission income.

He would now be compensated by a base salary and a much (much) smaller percentage of commission.

That adjustment to pay and commission was a hugely uneasy pill for Darren to swallow. 

The uncertainty of what it would look like for him – and for us – was very unsettling. 

He had a decision to make.  Should he stay and ride out the uncertainty or should he go to a competitor’s company who practiced the model of compensation he was used to. 

Amaya Pryce says, “The mind hates uncertainty, and would rather make a mistake than simply live in a state of ‘not knowing’ while the right course unfolds.

There’s a term I love that describes this place of uncertainty: liminal. A liminal space is at the border or threshold between possibilities. It’s a place of pure potential: we could go any direction from here. There are no bright lights and obvious signs saying ‘Walk this way.’

Liminal spaces can be deeply uncomfortable, and most of us tend to rush through them as quickly as possible.

If we can slow down instead, the landscape gradually becomes clearer, the way it does when your eyes adjust to a darkened room. We start to use all of our senses. The ego wants a brightly lit super-highway to the future, but real life is more like a maze. We take one or two steps in a certain direction, and then face another turning point. Making our way forward requires an entirely different set of skills, and waiting is one of the most important!”

One of the things I appreciate most about Darren is that he is not a hasty or a fearful decision maker. What he chose to do was far more wise than deciding to stay or to go in a reactionary manner.

He ultimately decided to not decide.  And he put a date on it. 

He would wait 6 months and then decide to stay or to go.  By then he would know how his sales compared to the last year, how the compensation panned out, how the new position impacted our family, and a myriad other things. 

The decision to wait 6 months to decide gave him the space to lean into the new definition of his job, and it gave him a way to answer his brain when it wanted to spin with questions. 

He knew he needed more time and more information to make a solid decision.  Deciding to not decide, for now, made the most sense.  And that decision WAS a decision.

The right one, it turned out. 

Within a few weeks, hotel and gas and food prices in our area had soared and he was able to travel without those increases coming out of his pocket.

And a few weeks after that, with my retirement from school looming, he asked me if I thought I wanted to coach full time.  

His generous attitude and his benefit package allowed me the opportunity to go all in on my own little coaching business much sooner than I expected.

And so, by the time the 6 months came and went, there was not a decision for him to make. 

We’re both glad he decided to not decide.  

I can’t wait to see what decisions you can make to not decide – it just might give you a little more time and liminal space to feel out your next move. 

And I’d love to help you with all of it.