Dr. Celia Varghese, smiling at camera, as she discusses the fear of choosing wrong in business

Fear of Choosing Wrong? 3 Steps for Mom Entrepreneurs- E22

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Episode 22 –

Picture this: it’s nap time, you’re at the kitchen table with your laptop open, and three tabs pulled up—a course, a coach, and a software tool. Your brain is spinning with “what ifs.” What if I pick the wrong one? What if I waste money? What if this doesn’t move my business forward?

That’s the fear of choosing wrong in business decisions, and if you’re a mom entrepreneur, you know it well. It’s not just about the decision itself—it’s about the mental load it carries into the rest of your life. You’re folding laundry while replaying it in your head. You’re cooking dinner while second-guessing yourself. The cost isn’t just money—it’s your energy and focus.In this episode of Biz-Mom Life,

Dr. Celia explains why so many moms get stuck here. Research in psychology shows that our brains are wired for loss aversion—we feel the pain of a loss about twice as strongly as the joy of a win. So we hesitate, delay, and stall in order to avoid a mistake.

But here’s the problem: waiting often drains more than acting.

Delaying a decision can hold back business growth and leave you feeling more exhausted than if you had just picked a direction.

Dr. Celia shares a simple 3-step decision filter:

  1. Align with your priorities – Does this move you closer to your business goals and fit your family’s current season of life?
  2. Define the real risk – What’s the actual worst-case scenario, and could you recover from it?
  3. Set a timeframe – Decide to test it for 30 or 90 days. You’re not committing forever; you’re running an experiment.

This approach reduces overwhelm and helps you move forward instead of circling in indecision. Because the truth is, it’s not about finding the perfect option—it’s about making a choice you can learn from.

Throughout the episode, Dr. Celia shares real-life stories from her own business—times she delayed too long because of fear, and what changed when she finally acted.

She highlights that confidence doesn’t come from waiting until you’re sure. It comes from self-trust as an entrepreneur—proving to yourself that you can handle what happens next.

For mom entrepreneurs balancing business and motherhood, every decision feels big. But the most important shift is realizing that progress doesn’t come from waiting—it comes from choosing, adjusting, and moving forward one step at a time.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

  • Why moms struggle with the fear of choosing wrong business decisions
  • How loss aversion shapes the way we make (or delay) choices
  • The 3-step decision filter that helps reduce overwhelm
  • How small steps of self-trust build momentum in business
  • Why action—even imperfect—creates more growth than waiting

If you’re ready to stop overthinking and start moving forward, this episode will give you practical tools and mindset shifts to help.

? Want more support to reset your schedule and lighten your mental load? Join me inside the Biz Mom Balance Blueprint VIP. In just 30 days, you’ll create a schedule that works, reclaim energy for your family, and finally follow through on the tasks that matter most.

Related Podcast Episodes

Episode 10: Entrepreneurial Mom: Where Does Perfectionism Come From?

Episode 20 – 3 Lead Generation Secrets Biz Moms Need During Tantrums

Episode 21 – How to Explain Mental Load to Husband

? Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and share this episode with another mom entrepreneur who needs the reminder that progress comes from choosing, not waiting.

Podcast transcript for this episode

Dr. Celia
00:00 – 00:13
Imagine this. You’re sitting at the kitchen table during nap time with your laptop open. You got three tabs pulled up. One for a course that you’re considering, one for a coaching program, and another for a software subscription that promises to save you hours.

Dr. Celia
00:14 – 00:24
Your heart rate is picking up, your brain is spinning. What if I pick the wrong one? What if I waste my money on something I really don’t need? What if I spend weeks on this and it doesn’t even move the needle forward in my business?

Dr. Celia
00:24 – 00:40
Can you relate? As mom entrepreneurs, our decisions rarely feel small. Each choice comes with an invisible layer of pressure because it doesn’t just cost time or money, it costs family bandwidth. When we get stuck in fear of choosing wrong, we delay action.

Dr. Celia
00:41 – 01:08
And indecision is one of the fastest ways to burn through resources without even realizing it. In today’s episode, I’m going to walk you through how to move past the fear of choosing wrong in your business. You’re going to learn the psychology of why this fear is showing up, practical ways to evaluate decisions, and mindset shifts to help you trust yourself, so you can stop spinning and start moving forward with momentum. So one of the biggest psychological drivers of decision paralysis is loss aversion.

Dr. Celia
01:09 – 01:32
Research in behavioral economics show that humans feel pain of losses about twice as strongly as they feel the joy of gains. In business, this translates into, I’d rather miss out on growth than risk losing what I already invested. I remember when I first started investing in business tools. I spent three weeks agonizing over whether to invest into Acuity, Calendry, or DeSabo.

Dr. Celia
01:33 – 01:53
And I had spreadsheets, pros, and consulates, the works. And I even asked other moms in business groups, what did they use? What I did not realize was that the stress of thinking about this and choosing the perfect tool was more draining than just making the decision itself. Looking back, even if it had not been the perfect choice, I would have been better off just moving forward sooner.

Dr. Celia
01:54 – 02:05
It’s not that you’re indecisive. Your brain is actually wired to protect you from loss. Understanding this helps you recognize that fear is not a sign that you’re failing. It’s a normal response that you can work with.

Dr. Celia
02:06 – 02:24
Here’s the paradox. The more we avoid making a choice, the more resources we waste. A Harvard Business Review article noted that companies and individuals often lose more money from delayed decisions than from making imperfect ones. So for moms in business, indecision also causes emotional bandwidth.

Dr. Celia
02:25 – 02:43
The mental load that you carry while you think about it is actually draining you. You’re replaying the choice in your mind while packing lunches or folding laundry and this energy you could be using elsewhere. I remember sitting on the idea of creating the BizMom mental load planning app for months. I kept overthinking, like, what if moms don’t use it?

Dr. Celia
02:43 – 03:05
What if I spend all this time building something that doesn’t work the way that I hope? So I delayed and delayed and delayed. And in that delay, I lost valuable feedback of what I could be learning about what my people want sooner than later. When I finally decided to work on the micro app and put it out there, I realized that the only way to know what works and what’s needed is to actually launch it and listen.

Dr. Celia
03:05 – 03:20
And here’s the best part. Every mom business owner who has tested this out loved it. So waiting had cost me so much momentum and helping others who really needed this app. By the way if you’re wondering how you can access this app it’s coming out at the end of October so stay tuned.

Dr. Celia
03:20 – 03:42
So the mini takeaway here is not deciding is a decision and it often costs you more than choosing a direction and adjusting later. When I work with moms and coaching I teach a simple three-step filter decision. The first one is align with your priorities. Does this option move me closer to my business goals and fit with my family’s season of life right now?

Dr. Celia
03:43 – 03:54
Number two, define the real risk. What is worst case scenario if this does not work out for me? Can I recover from that? Often it’s not as horrible as your brain is telling you it’s going to be.

Dr. Celia
03:54 – 04:05
3. Set a time frame. Commit to testing the decision for a set period, whether it’s 30 days or 90 days. That way you’re not locked in forever, you’re running an experiment.

Dr. Celia
04:06 – 04:29
Psychology research shows that when you create clear parameters around a decision, your brain reduces the threat response. You’re not making a forever choice, you’re just making a short-term test. So when I was deciding on what personal coach I need in my business, I spent weeks going back and forth on different options. I compared prices, read every testimonial, followed their content obsessively, hoping that one will feel like the perfect fit.

Dr. Celia
04:29 – 04:45
The truth was, I was afraid of making the wrong choice. And finally, I gave myself a deadline to choose by Friday who I want to work with. I remind myself like this was not a lifelong commitment it was a three-month container. So I chose a coach who felt aligned and within the first month I was so glad I did not keep stalling.

Dr. Celia
04:46 – 05:08
That one decision moved my business forward in ways that overthinking never did for me. So I want you to keep this in mind the goal is not to find the perfect choice it’s to make a clear aligned choice that you can learn from. So at the core, the fear of choosing wrong often comes down to self-trust. Do I trust myself to handle the outcome if it is not perfect?

Dr. Celia
05:08 – 05:33
Research in positive psychology showed that self-efficiency, the belief in your ability to cope and adapt, is one of the strongest predictors of entrepreneurial success. This isn’t about never failing, but it’s knowing that you can recover, pivot, and try again. When I worked with moms inside my BizMom Balance Blueprint program, we practiced building self-trust through small, low stakes decisions first. Because every time you follow through, you’re proving to your brain, I can handle this.

Dr. Celia
05:35 – 06:00
So earlier on in my business, I made what I thought was like a wrong investment in a group program. It did not deliver on what I hoped and at first I felt so defeated. But later on I learned that I had learned valuable insights from the program about what I needed, about how I wanted to be supported, and what I’ll never tolerate again. And that experience made it so much clearer in the future on like deciding what do I need from a group program and what do I not need from a group program.

Dr. Celia
06:00 – 06:17
And that’s self-trust and action. So confidence doesn’t come from avoiding mistakes, it comes from practicing decisions and proving to yourself that you can keep moving forward no matter what. So, let’s recap. Your fear in choosing wrong is rooted in loss aversion.

Dr. Celia
06:17 – 06:23
Your brain is wired to protect you. 2. Indecision is often more costly than imperfect action. 3.

Dr. Celia
06:25 – 06:37
Using a decision filter, priorities, risk, time frame can help you move forward with clarity. 4. And the real key is building self-trust. Confidence grows from action, not from waiting.

Dr. Celia
06:38 – 06:48
Here’s my final thought for you. Every successful business owner you admire has made the so-called wrong choices. The difference is that they didn’t let fear keep them stuck. They decided, they learned, and they kept going.

Dr. Celia
06:48 – 07:05
And you can do the same. So if you’re ready to stop second-guessing and finally follow through on the things that matter most in your business, that’s exactly what we do inside BizMom Balance Blueprint VIP Experience. This is not another productivity hack. It’s a 30-day reset where we fix the three things most programs miss.

Dr. Celia
07:05 – 07:27
Your schedule, your mental load, and your ability to consistently follow through even in the small pockets of time that biz mom leaves you. You’ll find the link in the show notes. If today’s episode resonates with you, please make sure to subscribe and share it with another mom entrepreneur who really needs this reminder that progress comes from choosing, not from waiting. Thank you so much and I’ll talk to you next week.

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Dr. Celia Varghese smiling wearing purple shirt against green barndoor

Hi! I'm Dr. Celia!

As a mama of 1, my mission is to give driven Mom Business Owners a proven strategy to manage their schedule and reduce the mental load so they can get more done in small pockets of time — and start making more money in their business.

Disclaimer – The information contained on this podcast and the resources available through this podcast are for educational and informational purposes only. ​While Dr. Celia address health issues and the information provided on this podcast relates to medical and/or health issues, the information contained on this podcast is not a substitute for medical or health advice from a professional who is aware of the facts and circumstances of your individual situation.​

Celia Varghese MD is a medical doctor, but she is not your doctor or psychiatrist, and she is not offering medical advice and/or psychiatric advice on this website.  If you are in need of professional advice, psychiatric or medical care, you must seek out the services of your own doctor or health care professional.

Neither Dr. Celia, the company – Mindset Coach MD LLC nor any of its employees or owners shall be held liable or responsible for any errors or omissions on this podcast or for any damage you may suffer as a result of failing to seek competent medical or health advice from a professional who is familiar with your situation.

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Disclosure – please note that some of the links may be affiliate links. Occasionally, I promote things for a commission at no cost to you, but only things I genuinely love and believe you’ll love too. :)

 

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