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Throughout your journey in life, you'll be faced with countless decisions. These choices can range from trivial to significant and can influence the person you become in the future. Making decisions is a crucial step that may even impact your future. If you’ve ever made a choice that you regretted, there’s always room to learn how to make better decisions moving forward.
Steps
Formulate Thoughts
Outline the Issue. Before you can make a better decision, it's essential to clearly define the problem. This method will help you focus on making the decision without getting distracted by irrelevant matters. Writing a simple statement like 'My decision is to...' will help immensely.
- Ask yourself why you feel the need to make this decision. What’s your motivation? Understanding this can shed light on the action you are about to take. Maybe you're thinking of buying a new car. Is it because you need one, or is it because a friend just bought one? Understanding your motivation can prevent you from making a poor decision.
Managing Your Emotions. Emotions can impact the decisions you make, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The key here is being able to identify and control your emotions. Making the right decision is a process that requires a balance of emotion and reason. Only emotions directly related to the decision-making process should be considered.
- If you receive some bad news just before heading to work or school, negative emotions could influence some of your decisions. Being aware of this allows you to take a moment to calm down and remind yourself that you need to focus on the task at hand.
Don’t Overload Yourself with Information. You may have heard others talk about making informed decisions. While making decisions based on available information is important, too much information isn’t always helpful. We often form decisions based on the most recent information we've received.
- Prioritize the most relevant and important information that will impact your decision-making process. It might help to write down or mentally list the key pieces of information you need.
- If you find yourself obsessing over a decision for an extended period, take a break to clear your mind. A walk or reading for 15 minutes might help.
Consider Multiple Options. Make a list of all possible options, no matter how ridiculous they may seem. Your unconscious mind plays a significant role in decision-making. Scientists have discovered that most of our decisions are based on unconscious thought, and these are often the right ones based on the available information.
- Incorporate mindfulness into the decision-making process. Set aside distractions and spend time reflecting on your decision. Take deep breaths, consider different solutions, and weigh the pros and cons of each option. Meditation for 15 minutes has been shown to enhance the decision-making process.
- Meditation forces you to focus on the present moment. If your thoughts start to wander, redirect them back to the task of making a decision.
- Controlling your emotions and having the necessary information at hand will allow your unconscious mind to make a better decision.
Detach Yourself from the Decision. It can be difficult to make a decision when you involve yourself personally in the situation. Try imagining it’s a decision your friend is facing and they come to you for advice. We often give friends different advice than we’d give ourselves. This shift in perspective can help you see your decision from multiple angles.
- If you need to decide whether to stay in a relationship, pretend it’s your friend who’s in that relationship. Then, you’ll be able to consider the relationship from both individuals' viewpoints. You might think about what your friend could do to address certain issues and what the possible outcomes might be.
- Using an outsider’s perspective can also help you manage your emotions.
Consider the Risks and Rewards. Make a list of the potential positive and negative outcomes of your decision. Also, think about who might be affected by it. Keep in mind that every decision has both pros and cons. You should choose the option that brings more positive outcomes than negative ones. A perfect decision doesn’t exist.
- If you’re planning to buy a car, some benefits might include better warranty coverage, modern technology, or improved fuel efficiency. Drawbacks could include a higher price tag and needing more types of coverage. You’ll need to factor in your financial situation and current transportation needs.
- Consider the best and worst possible outcomes of your decision. Also, think about what might happen if you choose not to make a decision (and the process of doing nothing is similar to making a decision).
Making Decisions
Avoid Common Pitfalls. Your natural, one-sided way of thinking can sabotage the decision-making process. You might gather relevant information, weigh the pros and cons, and still find it difficult to make the best decision. It’s crucial to recognize that biases and prejudices can affect your decision-making.
- Always consider the issue from a different perspective instead of sticking to your initial solution. Seek advice from people who think differently than you to gain a deeper understanding.
- Don’t make decisions just because they feel most comfortable. Change may be difficult, but sometimes, trying something new or unconventional is the best solution.
- If you already have a decision in mind, avoid seeking out only the information that supports your viewpoint. Aim to approach the situation more objectively and consider all aspects of the issue.
- Focus on the present decision and current circumstances. Remind yourself that the past is behind you and should not influence your decision-making based on past mistakes or successes.
Plan Your Action Steps. Once you've decided what needs to be done, outline the specific steps to implement it. Your action plan should include a step-by-step approach, a timeline for executing the solution, and a way to connect with those who might be impacted by your decision.
- For example, if you’ve decided to take a vacation, you’ll need to establish clear steps. These could include budgeting and saving money for the trip, coordinating with others joining you, setting travel dates, finding transportation options and hotel details, and determining when each step should be completed.
Commit to Your Decision. Don’t hesitate, second-guess, or waver. A choice becomes a decision when you act on it. Focus your time, energy, self, and purpose on following through with your decision. If you can’t do this and continue to consider alternative options, your decision will likely be flawed because you haven’t fully let go of other possibilities. Following through is key.
- Making a decision can be one of the hardest parts. You might become so fixated on making the right choice that you never actually act. If you fail to follow through, you could miss out on the rewards and benefits it brings. If you’re debating whether to apply for a new job but haven’t filled out the application yet, you might lose the opportunity to someone else. You may even miss the chance to be considered by the company.
Evaluate Your Decision. A part of the decision-making process is evaluating your choices. Many people forget to revisit their decisions. Reflection helps you understand what went well and what didn’t. This process can also provide valuable insights for any future decisions you may have to make.
- Questions you can ask yourself include: Are you satisfied with the outcome? Could you have done something better? Would you have done something differently? What lessons did you learn from this experience?
Prepare a contingency plan in advance. No one can make the right decision at all times. You shouldn't be too hard on yourself. Sometimes, we are forced to make decisions without enough time or information. Even if that decision doesn't yield the expected outcome, you can use this experience to make a different choice next time.
- Although you've had to consider many options when making a decision, you can always revisit and try a few other things that you had previously considered. You can also start this process over again.
Advice
- Always remember to think carefully before saying or doing anything.
- You should ensure that your actions will benefit others, or at the very least, will not harm them.
- Most importantly, present your decision with confidence, adopting the attitude of 'let’s try this,' but be ready to revise it in order to minimize any harm. In most decision-making processes, you won't be able to gather all the real-world data, so trust your intuition. Intuition is the result of evaluating the information you've gathered and experiences stored in your subconscious.
- Even if you practice making good decisions, it does not guarantee that you won't make mistakes. But if done professionally, it can improve your ability to make better decisions.
- However, you shouldn’t rely too much on intuition when making major decisions in situations where expert knowledge, like that of an accountant or lawyer, may be required. Consulting them can help you reduce risks.
- This process can take quite a bit of time and effort, especially when it involves complex issues. It requires a range of skills and techniques. But only by following it will you be able to think more clearly about the future.
- Never take actions that benefit you but cause harm to others.
- You can only make the best decision when you're fully aware of your own emotions. You’ll find that the decision-making process is truly healthy, fulfilling, and creative. Success in this process is the best way to become a sound decision-maker. And if you look back at your life, you’ll notice that you've overcome some obstacles in the past that you weren't even aware of.
