You have been circling for months
Every list of pros and cons ends in a tie.
Courses
Start with three things you can do today
How to make a big life decision
Think a major choice through so you can make it and stand behind it.
A course for weighing a choice that will shape the next few years. It covers clarifying what you actually want, widening the options beyond either or, testing assumptions cheaply, weighing what you could and could not undo, and deciding when to stop deliberating.
Type this when Cadence asks what you want to learn
I am facing a big decision, like moving cities, changing careers or going back to study, and I keep going round in circles. Help me think it through properly so I can choose and live with the result.
Change any word so it fits your situation. The course is built from what you type and a few setup questions.
Start today
Four things you can do before the course exists.
Useful on their own. The course is for when you want the whole skill, not just the first move.
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Write the decision as one question
Original example: 'Should I move to Leeds for the new job by March?' is clearer than 'What should I do with my life?' If you cannot write one question, you may be facing two decisions bundled together, such as a job change and a relationship question. Separate them.
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Add a third and fourth option
Big decisions are often framed as stay or go. Original example: besides moving or staying, could you ask for a three-month trial at the new office, or move in six months after saving first? Even if you reject them, extra options show what you really value.
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Run a cheap test of your biggest assumption
If the move rests on 'I will like living there', spend a weekend in the city doing ordinary things: travel at rush hour, find a supermarket, look at what rentals cost. A real weekend tells you more than another hour of imagining.
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Mark what you cannot undo
List the parts that are hard to reverse, such as selling a home or leaving a role that will not reopen. Give those parts the most care, and get qualified financial or legal advice where money, contracts or custody are involved.
- Best for
- Decision-making
- Prerequisites
- None. Bring the situation you have.
- Course length
- 7 to 30 lessons, sized to your goal
- Lesson pace
- About 10 minutes a day
- Format
- Read it, or play the audio
- Access
- Available on the App Store, with early features and Android testing access
Before the course is built
Setup asks about your situation first.
Lesson 1 opens on the moment you describe, and the examples use your role. For this request, expect questions like these.
- What is the decision, in one sentence?
- What is pulling you each way, and which side feels louder?
- Who else does this choice affect, and how much say do they have?
- Is there a deadline, or is it open until you decide?
Right for now
If any of this sounds familiar, start here.
The choice affects people you love
A partner, children or parents will live with the result too.
You fear regretting it either way
Staying and leaving both look like possible mistakes.
Course arc
Where the course goes, in order.
Cadence writes the lessons for you, so the exact path follows your answers. This is the ground a course built from this sentence covers.
01 / 06What you are actually deciding
Separating the real question from the ones bundled in with it.
Values and needs
Ranking what matters most when everything cannot be had at once.
Widening the options
Moving past either or to trials, hybrids and changes of timing.
Testing assumptions cheaply
Finding a small, real way to learn before committing.
Risk and reversibility
Weighing what you could undo against what you could not.
Choosing and moving on
Setting a stop point and handling doubt after the choice.
What changes
What you will be able to do, and what you will stop believing.
You will be able to
Name what matters
Turn vague feelings into a short list of values and needs the choice must serve.
See more than two options
Find alternatives and partial steps beyond stay or go.
Decide and stand by it
Make the call with a clear reason you can explain to yourself later.
Ideas this course corrects
A pros and cons list settles it
Lists give every item equal weight. A single item that matters deeply can outweigh ten small ones.
If it were right, it would feel certain
Most big choices stay uncertain. Clarity usually comes from acting and learning, not from waiting for the doubt to go.
Course questions
What to know before you start.
How to make a big life decision: what can I do today?
Write the decision as one question. Original example: 'Should I move to Leeds for the new job by March?' is clearer than 'What should I do with my life?' If you cannot write one question, you may be facing two decisions bundled together, such as a job change and a relationship question. Separate them. Add a third and fourth option. Big decisions are often framed as stay or go. Original example: besides moving or staying, could you ask for a three-month trial at the new office, or move in six months after saving first? Even if you reject them, extra options show what you really value. Run a cheap test of your biggest assumption. If the move rests on 'I will like living there', spend a weekend in the city doing ordinary things: travel at rush hour, find a supermarket, look at what rentals cost. A real weekend tells you more than another hour of imagining. Mark what you cannot undo. List the parts that are hard to reverse, such as selling a home or leaving a role that will not reopen. Give those parts the most care, and get qualified financial or legal advice where money, contracts or custody are involved.
Is this a fixed course?
No. Cadence builds the course when you type the sentence and answer a few setup questions, so the lessons follow your situation. This page describes what a course built from this request covers. You see the whole path before Lesson 1.
Who is this course for?
A course for weighing a choice that will shape the next few years. It covers clarifying what you actually want, widening the options beyond either or, testing assumptions cheaply, weighing what you could and could not undo, and deciding when to stop deliberating. It sits under Decision-making in the Work & ambitions part of the library.
Do I need any prior experience?
No. Setup asks what you already know and where you want to use it, and the course starts from there. Bring a real situation if you have one; the examples are built around it.
How long does it take?
Courses run 7 to 30 lessons of about 10 minutes, sized to what you asked for. One lesson a day is the intended pace, and you can go faster. Lessons can be read or played as audio.
Does this course award a certificate or degree?
No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.
Start today
Type it, answer a few questions, open Lesson 1.
The sentence to type
I am facing a big decision, like moving cities, changing careers or going back to study, and I keep going round in circles. Help me think it through properly so I can choose and live with the result.