Philosopher Ruth Chen, on making big decisions:
When we choose between options that are on a par, we make ourselves the authors of our own lives. Instead of being led by the nose by what we imagine to be facts of the world, we should instead recognize that sometimes the world is silent about what we should do. In those cases, we can create value for ourselves by committing to an option. By doing so, we not only create value for ourselves but we also (re)create ourselves.
“On a par,” for Chen, means that options are not helpfully considered by consulting facts or input from the outside world, but rather, “you can look inward to what you can stand behind, commit to, resolve to throw yourself behind.”