How Do You Make Life-Changing Decisions Without Having All the Answers?
With Canada Day coming this week, I found myself reflecting on a question that many of us face at some point in our lives.
How do you make a life-changing decision when there are no guarantees, no perfect information, and no certainty about the outcome?
Almost 17 years ago, I faced that question myself when I decided to leave Brazil and start a new life in Canada. I remember feeling both excited and terrified at the same time, knowing that I was leaving behind everything familiar and stepping into the unknown.
People sometimes ask me if it was a leap of faith. In many ways, it was. But it was also one of the most calculated risks I have ever taken.
My husband often jokes that I’m a project manager in everything I do. A former coworker once told me, “Rosana has a spreadsheet for everything.”
They’re probably both right.
Because when I make an important decision, I don’t ignore the risks. I think through them.
I ask myself:
• What could go wrong?
• What is the impact?
• What are my alternatives?
• What is my Plan B?
• What can I do today to reduce the chances of failure?
Moving to another country was one of the biggest decisions of my life.
There were no guarantees.
No certainty.
No perfect information.
But there was a plan.
There were mitigation strategies.
And there was an understanding that sometimes the biggest risk is not taking the opportunity at all.
Project management has taught me many things, but one lesson stands out:
You don’t eliminate risk. You understand it, prepare for it, and make the best decision you can with the information you have.
Of course, this decision came with sacrifices.
The hardest part has been being away from my family in Brazil. That part never fully gets easier.
But over the years, Canada welcomed me with opportunities, friendships, and the people who became my family.
As Canada Day approaches, I find myself feeling grateful, for the life I built here, for the people who opened doors for me, and for a country that gave me the chance to start over.
Looking back, I never had all the answers.
I had enough information to make a decision, enough preparation to take the next step, and enough courage to accept that uncertainty is part of every meaningful journey.
Some risks change a project.
Others change your life.
Moving to Canada became one of the best decisions I have ever made.
Not because it was risk-free.
But because it was a risk worth taking.
— Rosana Inacio | PM Insight
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