Decision Making in Uncertainty with Adam Dickinson

Ever wish you could make big decisions without spiraling or second guessing yourself? Adam Dickinson shares how to actually use your intuition and logic together so you can move through change calmly, even when life feels uncertain.

In this episode:

0:00 Why decision making feels impossible during times of uncertainty
2:25 Adam’s practical approach for getting unstuck
6:25 Tools for calming down when you’re overwhelmed
10:03 How self-awareness shapes smart decisions
12:06 Adam’s four step process for aligned action

We also kept the conversation going with a Live Q&A where we talked about:

• How to tell the difference between fear, instinct, and real intuition
• What it looks like to use both logic and gut feeling in real decisions
• How to avoid anxiety or overthinking when things are messy
• Real life examples of applying Adam Dickinson’s framework
• Ways to build self-trust through transitions

Hang out with Adam:
https://ww.adamrdickinson.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-r-dickinson

Hang out with Deanna:
https://deannaseymour.com
https://instagram.com/thedeannaseymour

🪩 Listen to the extended version when you join us inside The Playhouse + Get your first month for just $10 with the coupon code PODCAST
https://jointheplayhouse.com 

And if you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review and share it with a friend! It really helps us grow and keep the good vibes coming!

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Welcome to the Playhouse Podcast, where we hang out with the brilliant business owners inside the Playhouse that make this community so awesome. I'm your host, Deanna Seymour, collective growth strategist and founder of the Playhouse where networking feels fun. Today I'm talking with Adam Dickinson about why decision making feels so hard during uncertainty and how we can move through change without spiraling, freezing, or endlessly second-guessing ourselves. Adam is a logic-to-intuition integration advisor serving as a future self-strategist who works with high-functioning adults navigating moments when logic alone no longer provides clarity. With over 15 years in logic-driven environments at the FBI, Adam brings a grounded practical approach to understanding intuition as usable internal intelligence. It's really cool. You have to wait unless his work helps people make steady, aligned decisions during periods of transition and uncertainty. There's an extended version of this interview available just for members where we dive into how intuition and logic are both valuable when it comes to decision making, how to tell the difference between fear, instinct, and actual intuitive insight, and how to use Adam's full framework when you're in the middle of a transition or made your life decision. Unlock that extra content when you become a member of the Playhouse at jointheplayhouse.com. All right. Let's get into it. Hey Adam, how's it going?

SPEAKER_00 1:43

It's going well, Yana. How are you?

SPEAKER_01 1:46

I am so excited that I'm here for the people listening. It's been a little bit of a journey to get me here, but talking to Adam is going to calm my spirit, I'm sure. But my power went out this morning. I had to drive to a friend's house. Also, just fair warning, they have two big dogs. I'm kind of as far away from the dogs as I can be, but we'll see if they make an appearance on today's podcast. So I don't want to waste any time since I've been running around town. And I just want to get started with you today, Adam, diving in and kind of talking about why we struggle so much with decision making, especially during like uncertainty and transitions. And like, you know, I find myself sometimes like spiraling and like it's really hard to make a decision, especially when you're kind of in the in the dip, as we call it at my house. So I just want you to kind of dive right in and tell us kind of how you approach that. Because I think you do it kind of differently from most people I know.

SPEAKER_00 2:45

I appreciate that. Uh yes, and thank you for having me. So as a uh transition strategy advisor, I do provide a different take on how to look at change and uncertainty. But I guess I would first start with the intention behind what you're wanting to feel, what you're wanting to experience, and what you're wanting to step into. Because a lot of times when I'm working with individuals, uh the intention, the underlying sort of intention of what you're moving toward is not really clear. And I think that's a really important step, especially if you're moving in from a place of fear or of anxiety or feeling in like you're in trouble into a place that's more calm and peaceful and exciting. So having, you know, anchoring your intention in gratitude and then moving forward from there is really helpful. I first start, and it if I heard you, Deanna, I think uh you want me to set the scene if someone's not in a great place, and then how do they move through that? Is that fair?

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Yeah. I mean, it sounds like kind of what you were just saying, too, is like what people talk about the difference between like running away from something or running like towards something. I think, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

Yeah, sure. Uh so yeah, definitely setting the intention is a good fundamental. And then from there, building your attention or your focus on what you're going to move toward, as you had mentioned, is really important. But I like to begin, if at all possible, if you're in a state of pause. If you're if you're going from maybe not in a great situation, but you want to become more calm or move into a place of joy, creating that pause to create a reset can really help you get things a little bit more clear. And once you have that clarity of mind internally, then we start to look at different tools. So, what I like to do is work with individuals to hone their intuitive side of themselves or really connect with their gut. So if you're in a place of calm, you've had that reset, and you're poised and ready to make your decision, connecting with your intuition from a self-loving, neutral, objective point of view, calm point of view is really going to set the bar high toward making a decision that's for what I like to describe the best version of yourself or your highest good. Once you connect with your intuitive side, have that gut lead you, sort of scoping where you would like to go, then I like to sort of advise individuals to step over to the logical side and help with the execution. So looking at all the different components of the decision from a macro point of view to a micro point of view, from alternative analysis point of view, all these different perspectives that are really important for you to consider as you're making your decision. But first, highly recommend creating that intention. Then, second step is looking at the the focal point on where you want to put your energy, and then from there, some more advanced steps are looking at your intuitive side and where that is leading you, and then switching over to the logical side and seeing how you can execute your decision with what you have available and what you have control over. So that's what I would start with. I'm happy to go into those different pillars, those different concepts in more detail. But yeah, how does that come?

SPEAKER_01 6:17

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's start with something I think a lot of people can relate to calming down when life feels overwhelming. I already mentioned that I had a pretty frazzled morning. And honestly, when I'm stressed or feeling pulled in a dozen different directions, it can definitely be a little hard for me to calm down. So is that where the first pillar comes in? Because before we dive into everything else, I think this is something all of us could use a little help with, myself included. So when we're feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or activated, how do we calm ourselves down?

SPEAKER_00 6:45

I mean, there are a lot of different techniques. I think one big factor is it's going to depend on the situation that you're in and what you have control over. So a lot of my clients that I work with, I'm helping them release the self-imposed cage that they're in. Meaning they've put themselves in a sort of environment, uh situation for safety reasons, either whether it they be warranted or not, um, there is a uh a component where most of the individuals that I that I support, they feel like they have to do something a certain way because either it's familiar or there's a component of fear or whatnot. So first it's just realizing the situation, recognizing the situation that you're in and what you have control over. And then from there, so if you're in a like a moment where you can go outside, that's probably a great option. Uh if you're able to move around, have that energy flowing a little bit more, where it's not all sort of anchored into one, like you're in cement essentially, but you're able to move around, get that that inner the body flowing, the energy flowing to when you can create sort of a reset. So going outside, for example, is a great sort of solution. If you're not in a situation where you can do that, so for example, from my personal life, I don't know if I'm I think I may have mentioned this to you, Deanna. I have had trouble uh flying in an airplane. So I in that situation, if you are feeling nervous or uncalm uh or anxious, uh starting to observe your body, being that witness on the uncalm uh where you're at in the current moment is super important. So that somatic awareness, starting to calm down your nervous system. Doing breathing techniques, breath work is can be a really important tool as well, but it's starting to bring attention, that focal point to the current moment, to when you are in that current moment, you start to observe the bodily sensations just release from your body. And that can help calm down the nerves, calm down the energy, and bring the decision making to the forefront and help you move forward from there. If let's say you're in a situation where you can move around, that's probably the best case scenario. If you're in a situation where you're not able to move around, like in an airplane, um, those are some additional tips to calm down. As a third option, which I really like if you're able to do this, is call a friend. Um, having that exchange with someone can also help calm nerves, especially if they're pretty even keel. But exchanging energy with someone else that you trust, that you have a relationship with can also sort of bring you back to the current moment and continue forward. So depending on the situation, depending on what you have availability to, there's a lot of different options, but moving energy and observing energy and exchanging energy are the key components of how to generally how to go about the calming process and what I advise clients. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

Oh cool. So, and I guess when I think of you, I think of you helping people with kind of big decisions too, right? Like in their lives. So would slowing down be a thing? I feel like myself, I always feel like, okay, I gotta figure this out as fast as possible. I mean, maybe sometimes you do have to figure out things fast, but what is that one of them or no?

SPEAKER_00 10:23

Yeah, I mean, it also depends on your variety of factors, uh, your operating system. So, meaning, and if those who are listening to this podcast, I'm very familiar with human design. So how your body operates, your own sort of decision-making strategies internally, what works best for you, whether with your if you're following your gut and you need some time to think about it, or if you're able to make that quick decision at a moment's notice, that's also really important. But essentially knowing how you operate is a key aspect of making that those big decisions. Another part is the element of self-awareness. So being curious about where is what's driving my decisions? Is it coming from fear? Is it coming from lack, limitation, that underlying sort of maybe subconscious even pull or push toward a certain outcome or result? So having that element of self-awareness is also important in making decisions. And I would go third if you had to really be comfortable with uh your limitations and know what is what's a healthy boundary for you. A lot of folks that I talk to and support are constantly growing and shifting. So knowing where your boundaries lie and where you can maintain your own self-care and self-empowerment is really important, and especially making big decisions. You want to make sure that you're continually having that sustainable amount of effort, of energy, and of self-confidence and self-love as you move through your big decision. Um, but maintaining that freedom and inner agency is really important.

SPEAKER_01 12:13

Okay, so once we've calmed ourselves down, grounded ourselves, and we kind of have taken time to like look at ourselves, how we operate, what happens next?

SPEAKER_00 12:26

So you can bring what I describe as your inner intelligence into decision making. So it's that self-awareness, that moment where you're fully aligned with what your gut's telling you and what you're seeing logically to start going down a path that's in alignment. So I have a uh four-step process, which I call my entologic process, starting with the intuitive side. So it's starting with what I described earlier: getting to be familiar with your body, that bodily awareness, somatic awareness, observing your physical sensations, observing your emotions, and then observing your intuitive messages. Um, and then from there, uh, and happy to elaborate on this, but I'll just go through it briefly. The second step is interpreting that information. So I came from a long time. I used to work as an FBI analyst. So I look at intuition and decision making and the logical side, and what's called in the intelligence community, there's a framework called the intelligence cycle, which is essentially a circle that has different steps, and and the way I look at the conscious and subconscious of your decision making brings this inner awareness into the logical side or things that you see externally of you. So we're first starting with the internal side, observing those that information that's coming from within you, and the next step is interpreting it. Um, so questioning it, being curious, you know, what is the what is this information telling me? What is uh what is the underlying cause of the information? Where is it drawing me toward? Essentially just trying to get to as much truth as possible behind your intuitive information. Then the third step is having it meet with logical data that you're seeing, feeling, hearing, smelling, all the five senses. So uh logically, all the data sources that we come across is dealing with the five senses, whereas intuitively, um, those are other skill sets that are require a different sort of approach. But when you're incorporating your inner intelligence, that inner awareness in with logical thought, there are different ways of combining the two. So, for example, the easiest sort of story or anecdote that I can give is when you are making a decision, you can see certain data points logically, and then you overlay that with how the energy of that certain judgment that you're trying to make. So, what is how heavy is the decision? Do you feel like it's pushing you or pulling you toward a certain direction? Knowing how the energetic weight, how your intuition is influencing that decision is a key component of how they start to become integrated, how you start to incorporate more of that gut awareness into making very critical decisions. And then the last step is once you start to integrate your logical intuitive sides, is having developing the muscle of self-trust, self-love to start to take action. Because a lot of times when I'm working with people, they're very much analytically wired, and the intuitive side is less developed. So having trust, having compassion toward yourself on what your intuition is leading you toward is a key component, is very critical as you continue to improve your intuitive making frameworks, remembering what your intuition feels like, what you hear, those sorts of things. But taking action is the last step. Various advanced components of that as well. But the bigger things are self-trust and self-love as you start to move forward.

SPEAKER_01 16:33

Okay. So this reminds me when people say things like, Well, my head's saying this, but my heart's saying this. Would that kind of describe a little bit of what you're doing? Right? I mean, I know it's not just your heart, but as you were talking, I was like, Oh yeah, I feel like I've been torn before, feeling like, well, I think logically I'm supposed to do this thing, but that kind of feels like a bad idea. Do you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 16:54

Sure. Yeah. I mean, it's definitely a conversation piece around what I talked about. I think what I'm sort of getting at though is heart and mind synchronization and knowing knowing how to do that.

SPEAKER_01 17:08

Well, that's cause that I think that's why we all struggle, cause we didn't know you yet, because you weren't on this podcast yet. But I'm just saying when we're all struggling, when we're doing that, we need your help. And honestly, that's the thing I think since I've met you, I've thought was so interesting about you and your work is that you don't make us feel like we have to make a decision about which one to go with, right? You have a way of sort of bringing them together and making the best decision with all the information. And we're gonna dig even deeper into all this during the extended interview that'll live inside the playhouse. But before we do, let everyone listening know where they can hang out with you online.

SPEAKER_00 17:43

Yes, of course. So if you're listening to this podcast and if you're in the middle of a personal transition, a personal shift, and want more clarity on your next steps, you can connect with me on my website at adamrdickinson.com or I'm on LinkedIn at Adam-R-Dickinson and share weekly insights on logic to intuition integration and practical ways to understand your inner intelligence during reinvention. So yeah, feel free to reach out to me there.

SPEAKER_01 18:11

Yeah, and Adam's also really fun, which is why we get along so well. So thank you, Adam. You're amazing.

SPEAKER_00 18:17

Thank you, Deanna. Really appreciate it. Happy to be here.

SPEAKER_01 18:21

Don't forget, Adam and I keep the conversation going inside the playhouse, including a live QA where we got into how to have your intuition and logic work together, how to tell whether it's intuition or just anxiety or overthinking, and what it looks like to apply this framework in real life decisions when things feel messy, emotional, or unclear. Unlock the extended episode when you join us inside the playhouse. Get your first month for just 10 bucks when you use the coupon code podcast. Learn more at jointheplayhouse.com, and hopefully we'll see you soon. Learn more about Adam by clicking the links below in the show notes. See you next time.