Making decisions can be extremely difficult. After all, you have so many different aspects to consider in the process. Which one will make you happy? What if one of them ruins your life? How can you tell up from down in this confusing time? It’s a challenge to make the right decision always.
Everyone wants to make the right decisions constantly. But is that possible? Truthfully, it isn’t. No one’s perfect, after all. But you can sharpen your choice-making skills so that you can more reliably make the best possible choices at the time.
Here Are 8 Ways To Always Make The Right Decision
1. Keep Calm
Impulsive decisions are often made when you’re feeling less than calm emotions. You may feel anxious, frustrated, stressed out, pressured, or angry. These emotions are not ideal for making good decisions. Before doing so, you should opt to calm yourself down.
Here’s a great calming exercise you can perform to bring your positive thinking back:
- #1: Start by sitting straight in a relaxed position.
- #2: Put one hand on your stomach so it rests just beneath your ribcage.
- #3: Put your other hand on your chest.
- #4: Inhale deeply and slowly over a count of around four, through your nose. Let your mind and respective hand focus on how your chest feels as your lungs fill with air.
- #5: Hold the breath you inhaled for approximately two seconds.
- #6: Exhale gently and slowly over a count of around four. You can breathe out through your mouth or your nose.
- #7: Repeat the whole process. Try to do this between six and ten times every minute over the course of 10 minutes.
Can’t take 10 minutes to breathe? Need to make an urgent decision? Close your eyes if you can and take some breaths deeply and slowly to give yourself a quick calming boost.
If you have more time, you can do things that relax you, such as:
- Going for a walk
- Listening to music
- Exercising
- Journalling
- Meditating
- Playing with pets
2. Free Yourself From Negative Thoughts And Feelings
Negative emotions can be highly detrimental to making smart decisions. Acting on them can lead to choices that aren’t logical or rational, and it can cause you to make choices that prevent you from improving and advancing. Some emotions you should eradicate are:
· Desperation
When you’re desperate, you’ll hop on virtually any possible solution impulsively. It’s important to keep your positive thinking. Yes, it can sometimes feel like the world is ending, but remember that it isn’t truly ending! There is a good solution out there, and you can find it.
· Fear
When you’re afraid, you can make decisions that feel safest. This can prevent progress and keep you stagnant. You need to take some time to consider the truth of the situation so you can be brave and overcome your fears.
· Guilt
Many people make decisions out of guilt. You may be made to feel like you have to make a certain decision due to outside pressure. This will ultimately result in you making a decision that you will regret later just to make someone else happy.
Wait until you have more positive thinking, and don’t let anyone guilt-trip you into a choice you aren’t 100% sure about.
· Impatience
If you feel like you need a decision made immediately, you may make quick, impulsive decisions that aren’t well thought out. Impatience will virtually always cause terrible choices.
3. Gather Information
It is important that you keep yourself informed before making any sort of decision, ever. If you don’t have all the information, you can’t possibly make a choice that is definitely the best one for you. Here’s how you can gather information:
· Do Research
If your decision could benefit from some research, then do it. Hop onto the Internet and look up all sorts of things.
Choosing between which apartment to move to? Research the reviews of tenants, what is nearby, how long your daily commute will take, and more.
Deciding whether to start your own business? Look up what is needed in that process, how much funds you will need, what the market is like, and how the legal process works.
No matter what your decision is, the Internet is your friend! It has all the information you could possibly want to know, right at your fingertips.
· Ask Questions
If your decision is being asked for by a person, don’t be afraid to ask them questions. Don’t feel ashamed of wanting more information from them. Someone who wants you to make a choice should have no problem with your desire to make an informed one in a positive way.
· Don’t Believe Biased Parties
Does this mean that you should call everyone biased a liar? Of course not! Most people are at least subconsciously biased towards one side or another. But it does mean that you should take what everyone says with a grain of salt. Gather all the information and consolidate them into cohesive information.
4. Ask For Opinions
Confused about your decisions? Talk to someone you can trust and ask for their opinion. Friends, family, colleagues, or anyone else you can trust are all options for asking for opinions. But don’t get too many opinions at once, or you may further confuse yourself!
You can also look for other people who have to make similar decisions before or those who are knowledgeable in the related sector that your choices lie in. Online communities will likely have plenty of people, many who may be happy to help you!
5. Be Patient
We’ve talked already about impatience makes for decisions that are less than ideal. If you want positive choices to be made, you need to make sure you’re not rushing into it. Here are some bonus tips:
· Take Your Time
You need time to weigh your options. Pause, reflect on the possible decisions, think about your reactions to them, and breathe. If a choice is demanded from you immediately, ask for more time to deliberate if possible.
· Let Yourself Sleep On It
Sleep is a fantastic thought resetter. After you think you’ve made your choice, sleep on it and see if you feel the same way in the morning.
· Allow Thoughts To Be Punctuated By Space
A lot of people get their best ideas when they’re not focusing on coming up with them. Consider your options, then let it go. Distract yourself with other things. Let the space between your thoughts grow. You never know, the true solution may come to you when you least expect it!
· Be Your Own Devil’s Advocate
Play devil’s advocate for yourself. Attempt to argue for the other side of the decision. If you start to make sense to yourself, you may need to reconsider your position. This is a very common form of decision-making that academics have found to make a positive impact on your thought process!
6. Get Your Thoughts Organized
The thoughts that plague your head when you have a big decision to make can be very disorganized. It’s important to get them organized before making your choice. Here are some ways to do that:
· List Down Your Options
What are all the choices you have? List them all down in an organized manner. That way, you can objectively see what your decisions are without the mess of tangled thoughts interfering.
· List Down The Outcomes
Now that you know your options, list down the possible outcomes of these decisions, too. This will help you to see which choices will have the best long-term results.
· Make A List Of Pros and Cons
Are the decisions still difficult to choose between? Write out the pros and cons of each one. Some cons might be deal-breakers, and some pros may be too good to pass up!
· Talk It Out
If all else fails, talk it out. You don’t even have to talk to anyone, just to yourself! Speaking out loud to make sense of your jumbled can work wonders for untangling thoughts.
7. Make A Decision That Keeps A Clear Conscience
Your decision should not weigh negatively on your conscience. Your choices should align with your personal code of morality and ethics. Here’s how to make sure you’re making the right decision in this respect:
· Think About The People Who It Will Affect
Will your decision affect other people? Yes, ultimately, you get the final say on decisions that change your life, but you may want to consider how these choices affect those you care about.
· Stay True To Yourself
What is important to you? Do you value family? Ambition? Social justice? Monetary gain? The law? Whatever it is, let that value guide your choice.
· Do Not Make Choices To Spite Others
Sure, you can some petty joy out of your success unintentionally making someone who has been cruel to you jealous or hurt. But that shouldn’t be your main reason. Besides, the best option is to move forward with kindness and forgiveness.
8. Trust Your Instincts
Your intuition and instincts are worth trusting. If all else fails, remember the first impressions you felt. These are often indicative of your innermost preferences. Of course, don’t jump right into it, but if you truly can’t figure out which decision is the best, your instincts are a safe bet.
Basically, don’t overanalyze. Those who make choices based on feelings when they have to can actually wind up with more positive feelings towards the resulting decision. Take a moment to reflect by yourself and get in touch with what you truly desire.
In fact, the better you get at making decisions, the more your intuition will be accurate from the beginning. So keep practicing! Soon, your instincts will be extremely reliable.
Final Thoughts on Mastering Making the Right Decision
Making decisions is a skill, and it’s one that you can hone. The more choices you make, the better you’ll get at it. So don’t be afraid to experiment, and if you make the wrong decision, learn from the mistake and move on!
More than anything, trust in yourself and in your ability to make the choices that work best for you, and trust that you can adapt to change and anything life throws your way! You’ve got this, and you don’t need to make the right decisions to live your best life.
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