After a few hours in the clag, pushing buttons and keeping the magenta line more or less centered, you’re vectored for the approach at your destination, fly the procedure, descend and spot the runway, just as everyone said you would. There’s a big, beautiful runway right there in front of you. What’s next? Conventional wisdom, along with your training, says you land on it. But that may or may not be what you want to do. In fact, you have a lot of options.
Sure; you can land, and that’s what you’ll most likely do, after performing a final landing checklist. You also can go around, for example, flying the missed approach procedure. Maybe your landing clearance was cancelled as you broke out due to a debris-contaminated runway, thanks to the preceding arrival, and that’s what ATC wants you to do. You can circle, maybe to land on the same pavement but from the opposite direction. You also can cancel IFR, or even obtain an SVFR clearance, and proceed to your real, nearby destination. Each of these options has upsides and downsides, but no matter which one you choose, you need to be prepared for it. That occurs during your approach briefing, which is best done at altitude, while you’re straight and level and have some time, before descending and flying the procedure.
