Whenever we have to make some decisions to make, our mind is baffled, we overthink everything and end up regretting the decision or doing nothing because we are very afraid to face the consequences. For example, if you want to buy a phone or decide a college or anything else, you have many choices but you can’t make a decision because it feels that every option is the same. So, if you would to make decisions properly, I suggest you understand these instructions and then try to make that decision:
- There is no such thing as a good or a bad decision
There is no such thing as a good or a bad decision. There’s just a suitable decision and a learning one. If the consequences of your choice lead to desired events, it’s a suitable decision. If that’s not the case, then it’s a learning decision.
2. Focus on the end goal
Always focus on the end goal which you’re trying to achieve and never take your mind off of it. Have the power to believe in yourself and believe that you can work towards your goal and achieve it. I don’t care if it is happiness, money or anything else. Just make decisions accordingly.
If you have to decide your phone just never take your mind off of the main reason you’re buying it which can be durability, battery etc.
3. Take a deep breath and calm your mind
First try to take your mind off of the question. Whenever you have a decision to make, take deep breaths, focus on the breath and try not to think about the question for some time. When your mind is off of it, ask yourself the question and repeat all the choices you have in your mind. You’ll notice that you’ll get a strange feeling when go over each option which will either make you feel happy or sad or anxious and so on. Remember those.
4. Trust your gut
If the feeling you’re getting when you go over each option makes you feel happy, excited or gives you feelings of pleasure, stick with it. If it makes you sad, anxious, upset or gives of feeling of displeasure, forget it even though it’s the most logical one. Your gut never lies.
If you like singing and you are being asked to pursue something else, then choose singing or in the future, you may realize that choosing the logical option was a very big mistake.
5. The logical choice may not be the best one
The logical choices are based on what your brain says which can be useful but may not be the one which you would’ve made in the future if you got to make the decision again.
Look around you and ask the people what their dream was when they were younger. If they are not living their dream or even pursuing it, they are unhappy regardless of what they say. You know how they ended up so miserable? They made the logical choice. Ask yourself the question, ‘Do I want to end up unhappy like them?’. Be the risk taker because one risk will change your forever or you’ll wish that you should’ve made that choice earlier.
6. Think about it but don’t overthink about it
Overthinking won’t get you anywhere because it’s not true, it’s thinking about what could happen. Think about what could happen but don’t stress about it. Overthinking makes you unproductive, indecisive and worried about what you can’t control, so stop it. Just tell your mind to shut up when it worries about the future.
7. Be imaginative, not realistic
The logical option is the realistic one. When all the people around you give suggestions, they mostly give the logical option in order to be realistic. Let’s face it, that option is not wrong. It’s the easy way and a way to chicken out. So, you have to be imaginative and choose the one you really want as a challenge and not chicken out like everyone else around you.
8. Money isn’t everything
Money can solve a lot of problems doesn’t mean that just because some of the options don’t yield a lot of money then they shouldn’t even be considered. They are be the best ones among all the options you have at the moment.
If you have to choose between a high paying job that you find disgusting and singing at a restaurant which doesn’t pay much, you should choose whichever you would love to do and help you achieve your end goal.
9. Don’t be biased. Listen to what other people have to say but don’t let them make the decision for you
Whenever you have a decision to make, you have to know your options. If you think they aren’t for you then, you don’t have anything to lose but if they are for you, then, they can influence your process phenomenally.
For example, if you want to buy clothes and you are considering buying only from Zara and are not even look at the H&M because you think that H&M sucks, then you should run to the nearest H&M store to look at the stuff they have because there may be something you want to buy but regret it in the future only because you didn’t like H&M at the time.
10. Don’t care about what other people think
Don’t care about what other people think because firstly, your choices doesn’t concern them, they concern you. Secondly, you can’t control what others think about anything. What you can control is your urge to be liked by everyone and focus on what really matters to you.
Your hesitation might be a sign of low confidence. Read: 13 steps on how to be confident( https://1stepcloser.design.blog/2020/01/15/13-steps-on-how-not-to-look-confident-but-be-confident/)
For instance, if you want to leave your current job for another job that offers less money or benefits but makes you happy and you’re concerned what others think, you have to understand that it’s what’s good for you that has to be taken into account because your decision affects you and choose what makes you happy.
11. Never harm the people close to you who care for you, either explain your choice to them or show them the results in future
When you have a decision to make, you may have some people who have roles to play in helping you make the suitable decision which would be beneficial for you according to them. You have to keep in mind that you have to take good care of them or you’ll drive them away. If your choice is conflicting with theirs, then either you should it to them or show them the results because no matter what, they are trying to think about what is good for you, not for them. Also, these are the people are the people who will support you regardless of what decision you take.
12. You are not obligated to do anything
When we have a decision to make, we often get entangled in what we’re supposed to do as an obligation to our family, teachers and many others which affects our ability of making a decision which fulfills our wants.
For example, if you have a profession to choose, you aren’t obligated to choose what your parents want to choose just because they’ve helped you grow. It’s what makes you happy because it’s your life. Your parents want you to achieve the same goal you want to achieve – Success. It’s just that you want to choose a different path towards it.
13. Respect your decision (never regret it), learn from it
You must have heard the people around you telling you to take responsibility for your actions. It means that you should accept what you’ve done or you’re going to do whatever its consequences are. If the result of your choice wasn’t what you desired, you learnt something new which will always be useful in your life and make you stronger. So, there is nothing to regret. If you do regret making a mistake, you are acting foolish.
14. Be prepared for the worst but don’t fear it
What we fear when we have a decision to make is that we don’t know what’ll be the outcome and always assume the worst is going to happen. There is a chance that it can happen. So, you have to suck it up, accept it as a possibility and go for it or you’ll regret it afterwards.
If you want to ask a girl out but fear rejection, just suck it up and ask her. If you wait, someone else may get the chance and get the girl while you’ll be full of regret and wishing that you would’ve made the choice earlier.
15. If anything goes wrong, accept it
If the worst thing does happen, you can’t run away from it because you will make the same mistake if you come across the problem in the future. So, it’s better that you accept the result, learn from it and move on rather than holding a grudge against the situation and making the same mistake again in the future.
I know that you may be thinking that I don’t know what you’ve gone through but, I want you to keep in mind that if the decision was life changing and led you to a dark turn, then, learning from it will take you to a much brighter place.
16. A few learning decisions don’t make you incompetent, they make you experienced
One or two or even a hundred mistakes don’t make you incompetent unless you learn from them. Even if you are incompetent until now, that doesn’t mean you can’t get better. It’s just that you haven’t even tried to be competent.
There is no success without a few failures. If you stop with only some failures, then, you’re giving up and proving that you are incompetent.
17. If you don’t know what to do, just take action and stick with it because waiting won’t get you anywhere
This is the one of the most important steps in the decision making process. The most crucial step which separates you and success is the action with which you initiate your work because the it’s the one of the hardest things you have to do to even be on the path to success.
The biggest problem among people is inaction and indecisiveness which separates us from the success. It’s due to these things aren’t even able to initiate our journey.
IN SIMPLE WORDS:
Everyone in this world is a potential _____ (fill in the blank). The only barrier between your dream and you is that decision.
You are a driver and your destination is success. The decision is the key to the car. Without the key, you wouldn’t even be able to start for the journey.
If you apply these steps, you’ll get 1 step closer to making decisions properly.
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