The simple rule I swear by (to make freaking hard decisions)

And avoid regret

Welcome to Freedom Focus—your weekly dose of career and work-related rants and insights from a multi-hyphenate young professional obsessed with escaping the 40-year-in-a-cubicle blueprint.

You might’ve come for the remote work tips. You’ll probably stay for the feeling of being seen in your hunger for a freer and more intentional life. Pull up a chair and let’s get you a Spritz.

Growing up, I had this pretty bitter expression I’d throw around whenever someone was using far too many words to express a simple idea:

Economia di parole — literally, “Word economy.”

I honestly have no idea where I first came up with it, or if I heard it somewhere, but I used it—frankly, in a slightly condescending way—as a verbal flag for people I felt comfortable enough to tease:

You need to cut it short. Trim. Be frugal with your words.

Economia di parole. Do some word economy.

I like to think I’ve become a much more tolerable human since my teenage years (to all whom I hurt with my snappy statement: PLEASE ACCEPT MY APOLOGIES). Still, over time, the principle of conserving energy—whether it’s words or actions—has come in handy in other parts of life.

One among all?

Making hard decisions.

There’s an Italian song where the singer says his girlfriend broke up with him via text.

He didn’t reply.

“Le cose giuste non hanno un gran bisogno di parole.”

The right things don’t need many words.

I’d take it further: hard decisions don’t need a whole lot of thinking, either.

At life’s crossroads, we often spend more energy imagining everything that could go wrong—how our life might be ruined and our reputation forever damaged—than visualizing what we actually want and finding ways to make it happen.

Or, if we’re confused, we loop endlessly in rumination instead of suspending judgment and waiting for a clear signal.

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In 2021, I was living in Poland and something felt... off

I was slowly realizing that the place wasn’t for me, even though I had what I thought was my dream job.

(This was months before acknowledging that what I truly wanted was to leave the country, find a fully remote job, and travel the world—which I did end up doing.)

At first, I kept torturing myself with the same questions:

Should I leave? Where to?

At that point, I had no idea what the answer was.

I’d already lived three years in Portugal, four months in Brazil, six months in the UK, gotten stuck in Italy for a year during the pandemic, and had my boyfriend starting his PhD in the U.S.

Migrating to the States wasn’t going to be easy—that I knew—and I wasn’t feeling the pull yet.

(I would feel it a few years down the line).

Returning to Italy didn’t interest me either.

So, I tried something different:

I waited. I didn’t force an answer.

I conserved my energy.

Five months later, the signal arrived: I couldn’t stay any longer.

Within a month, I resigned, gave my landlord notice, and booked a flight to visit my boyfriend temporarily while figuring out my next career step.

Economy of thought and word (get still) → Wait for the signal → Execute.

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The Energy Conservation Principle for Everyday Life

When everything feels uncertain and confusing, follow a simple rule:

don’t make a change until you really feel it.

Get still and wait.

In the meantime, explore meticulously the minimum viable alternatives:

• Before quitting your job, make sure there’s no lateral or higher role in your company that could work for you.

• Before contemplating a move to another country, try changing neighborhoods, re-evaluate your friendships, and test solo travel.

• Or, like I did last July, stop setting petty goals (and shed the ones you consider as such). Instead, focus on—or wait to receive—the ones truly worthy of your attention.

The rush of dopamine often obscures our judgment. It feels far more exciting to make a dramatic change than a small one.

But while that dopamine hit may last only a couple of weeks—after which you’re still left facing the same you—small, less glamorous experiments might not feel thrilling, but they bring you closer to the real answer.

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Mind you, I have no hidden agenda here.

I moved countries multiple times, quit two jobs voluntarily, and explored four different industries.

I don’t regret a single one of these bold moves, but I know firsthand the energy each dramatic shift demands.

The biggest lesson?

If you think your life will automatically be easier elsewhere… it probably won’t.

So, whether it’s cutting unnecessary words, stopping your endless rumination pattern, or letting go of unnecessary goals, the principle is the same:

Economy is clarity.

When you conserve your words, your thoughts, your actions and your energy, you give the right decisions space to appear.

“Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself?” —Lao-tzu

Thank you for reading Freedom Focus!

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Until next time,

Yours,
Caterina