- Amy Jacques,
- M. Ed., ACC,
- CPC, ELI-MP,
- CLDS, CDTS
Quick Guide to
Decison Making
Most people fear the unknown or making the wrong decisions. People can spend so much time ruminating over what choice to make, the road to choose, or the path to follow. This indecision is just plain avoidance. We risk not making decisions and then miss out on opportunities. Don’t let this be you!
Here are some decision-making strategies that may help you: Try visioning the decision you want to make and then the decision you feel you should make. Write down any differences. Visioning is making a movie picture in your mind that induces emotions that help you think about your decision’s outcome. Try brainstorming for your decision. Get paper, pen, or pencil and start writing down all the ideas that come to your head for a decision. After free writing your thoughts, try categorizing them into safe and risky. Notice the feelings in your body as you read through each one. Do some make you tense, and others make you feel relaxed? Try a pros & cons list. Make a T graph, one side for Pros and one for Cons, and make your lists in each column under each title. List out all the things that are positive (pros) for that decision and then all of the negatives (cons) that will come from that decision. If you have more cons, you may want to make another decision; if you have more pros, that may be the right decision. Listen to your intuition! Don’t underestimate it.
Ask yourself these questions:
•What does your heart tell you?
•What does your head tell you?
•What does your gut say?
Examine your responses, and see if you get something new out of these thoughts. Ask yourself, will this even matter in one year? If not, then don’t worry so much about the impact of your decision. Have less fear about that because it won’t matter. Explore your values; which decision aligns more with your values? Or does the decision align with your values? Use the time you have to make a decision efficiently so you do not waste any precision time moving forward
•What does your heart tell you?
•What does your head tell you?
•What does your gut say?
Examine your responses, and see if you get something new out of these thoughts. Ask yourself, will this even matter in one year? If not, then don’t worry so much about the impact of your decision. Have less fear about that because it won’t matter. Explore your values; which decision aligns more with your values? Or does the decision align with your values? Use the time you have to make a decision efficiently so you do not waste any precision time moving forward