π The Flip-Flop Type - Sends it, unsends it, sends it again
Decides, sends it, and the moment it's gone every argument for the other option lights up β so it gets taken back, decided again, reversed again.
What are they like?
The Flip-Flop Type finds that picking A makes the case for B suddenly, painfully obvious. Most people feel relief once a decision is made; for this type that's the point where the real deliberation starts. The sent message gets reopened, the completed payment gets cancelled, the confirmed plan gets moved. The person who wrote "I'm withdrawing my application" and followed it a minute later with "actually, I'll be there" is this type exactly.
What's telling is how often the original answer wins in the end. It isn't a lack of conviction so much as a need to keep stress-testing yourself until certainty arrives. The genuine strengths here are a willingness to change course when new information appears, and the nerve to reverse a bad call rather than commit to it out of pride.
The catch is that "so what's the actual answer?" leaves you with nothing to say, and you know as well as anyone that repeated reversals cost trust. The aftermath of a decision costs far more than the decision did. There's no need to ban yourself from changing your mind β just cap it in advance at one reversal per decision, and you'll spend that one far more carefully.
Signature traits
- "Okay but waitβ" is a sentence you start several times a day
- You reread sent messages with your finger hovering over delete
- You're more anxious after deciding than you were before
- You frequently end up choosing what you originally chose
Strengths
- Genuinely willing to change course when new information shows up
- The nerve to reverse a bad call instead of committing out of pride
- Holds both sides of a choice in view right to the end
Worth watching out for
- "So what's the actual answer?" leaves you with nothing to say
- You know as well as anyone that repeated reversals cost trust
- The aftermath of a decision costs you far more than the decision did
Right before deciding
- Reopening a message you already sent β The case for the other option starts building the instant it leaves your hands.
- Facing the order confirmation screen β The cancel button gets a long look while you run the numbers again.
- Saying "one last think about it" β That last think happens roughly three times, which is the whole signature of this type.
Good to be around (just for fun)
β‘ The Send-It Type β While you're going back and forth between A and B, the Send-It Type has already picked one and is waiting. "Let's go with this and change it later if it's wrong" turns out to be surprisingly freeing β once you've confirmed a decision is reversible, the number of reversals drops sharply.
Takes some work β π² The You-Decide Type: You ask "what do you think?", they answer "whatever you want, you choose", and the two of you enter a loop with no exit. Nobody commits and the clock runs out on both of you, so this pairing badly needs one of you to set the deadline first β something like "fine, I'm deciding in five minutes."
β» Type compatibility is for entertainment only β there's no science behind it.
One thing to try
No need to ban yourself from changing your mind. Cap it in advance instead: one reversal per decision. Knowing you only get one makes you spend it far more carefully, and deliberately not looking at anything related for thirty minutes after deciding helps too.
Frequently asked questions
Why does this type deliberate more after deciding than before?
Choosing one option is what makes the other option's advantages visible. It isn't an inability to decide so much as a need to keep stress-testing the choice until certainty arrives.
Isn't reversing decisions this often a problem?
The flexibility to change course on new information is genuinely a strength. Where other people are involved, though, capping the number of reversals in advance is what protects the trust.
How do I get along well with this type?
Pushing with "have you STILL not decided?" backfires. Point out what's still reversible instead β knowing a decision can be undone is what lets this type make it faster.
Find out your type (10 questions)