Making better decisions will enhance your life experience. It’s worth it to take the time to evaluate how you go about this process. Do you attempt to make your decisions quickly? Speed isn’t everything. Sometimes we need to take our time and weigh all of our options up to make a good decision. That is particularly important when the decision you are making has long-term or far-reaching consequences attached to it.
Are you able to make confident decisions, or do you feel uneasy whenever you make a decision? Is the way you are making decisions working for you? Confidence can help you when making decisions and can guide you to take action.
Confidence can be built up separately from decision making. However, you will not do well with decision making without confidence. When others are affected by your decisions, it will be even more important to make them confidently.
How do you build your confidence in yourself and your decision-making abilities? You start by believing in your dream or goals. Before you accomplish anything, you are facing the unknown. That is scary, and you obviously have no way of knowing the future. It’s the reason people hesitate when making decisions. They are afraid to make the wrong ones and lose the faith of others who are affected by those decisions.
I want to share with you my three favorite tips for making better decisions.
1 – Write Down A Pros and Cons List
Whenever there is a tough or complicated decision to make, one of your first steps should be to write up a pros and cons list. You may feel like you have a good overview of everything involved, but there’s nothing quite as clarifying as having it in front of you in black and white.
Be Willing to Go the Distance
The process of making a list forces you to consider all aspects and possible outcomes. That results in you making better decisions based on all the applicable facts. You’ll find the exercise very clarifying. Don’t be surprised if an obvious choice stares you in the face by the time you’re done making your list.
2 – Come Up With A Few Alternatives
Another great strategy to make better decisions is to weigh up all your options and come up with a few different possibilities or alternatives. Often you can get around disadvantages or things you don’t like about the obvious choice by getting a little creative and thinking outside the box.
Before you make an important decision, get into the habit of thinking through a few different alternatives. Choose the best one and move through the rest of your decision-making process. As you use this strategy of coming up with alternatives, you’ll get better at it and start seeing the bigger picture and different ways to reach the end goal. That’s a good life skill to have both during decision making, and also throughout the rest of your life.
3 – Talk To Trusted Advisors And Get Input From Team Members
Last but not least, I want you to realize that you don’t have to go it alone. Do not be afraid to ask for input about the decision you’re about to make from trusted advisors, mentors, and even the people that will be affected by your decision.
There are a couple of reasons why you want to talk to both groups of people. Advisors and mentors can help you because they have been in the same or similar situation. Tap into their experience, hear what they have to say, and then use that information as part of your decision-making process.
Involving people affected by your decision makes sense for two reasons. The first is that you get another perspective on the situation and may discover some advantages and disadvantages you haven’t thought of yet. The second (and perhaps more significant reason) is that by making them part of the process, they will be more likely to feel ownership in the decision and thus support you more in the implementation.
There is an article on NeuroGym that shares another valuable piece of this topic of making better decisions:
Visualize your future, successful self.
If you want to know how to make successful decisions, take a moment to think about what success means to you. How do you define personal success? Write your answer down in a journal or on a piece of paper.
Next, visualize your ideal, future self. Do this by getting into a relaxed position, close your eyes, and allow your mind wander into a daydream.
What do you see and feel? Are you beaming with energy? Do you have a healthy glow about you? Are you in the best shape ever? Are you in love? Do you have a supportive community and a fun circle of friends?Are you financially independent? Do you get along well with your business partners, colleagues, and employees? Take notes, if you’d like.
Please take this topic seriously and let me know if these strategies work for you. Everyone benefits when we improve ourselves and strive to make better decisions.
I’m author, publisher, and entrepreneur Connie Ragen Green and would love to connect with you. If you are new to the world of online entrepreneurship please check out my comprehensive training on how to set up Funnels That Click and learn how to gain an unfair advantage when it comes to building a lucrative online business.
I’ve been studying and teaching (in the corporate world) decision-making for years. This good post covers the essentials. One thing I would add from experience: at the point of making a decision, no one intends to make a “bad” decision. Our limited objectivity about ourselves creates challenges. There is a Chinese saying, “The eye cannot see its own lashes.” This human frailty makes your point #3 even more important. Especially when the decision is about our own self, asking friends or colleagues can be useful. We do not always see our reflection clearly in our personal “mirrors.”
Thank you for this insightful comment, Roger. Lots of food for thought within your words here on the topic of decision-making.
Connie Ragen Green