Personal Development and Growth

Decisions, Decisions

Friends, I really cannot decide what to post today .

I am kidding. Today’s post is about being indecisive. In order to succeed in life, you must be able to make a decision. The best leaders in on Earth are those that are decisive.

Decision making can be difficult, no doubt about it. I have seen people stare at the lunch menu in a restaurant for 20 minutes, trying to choose what to have for lunch. This is no way to live, is it? Just about any decision you make will be difficult, and will involve some degree of risk. The toughest part, of course, is trying to figure out which of the options is going to be the most beneficial to you. You must be able to accept the consequences of your decision, so it is best to have a plan of action to begin with, rather than hastily making a decision without thought.

Here are 6 steps you can take to aid in making decisions.

#1. Identify All Choices
Sometimes, decisions aren’t as simple as A or B. Sometimes, there are several paths you can take. Make sure you have listed them all, even if some of them are not at first desirable. It is best to know all the options before you commit to one.

#2. Make A List
Make a list of all the possible options from step #1, and whittle them down to the top few choices. Eliminate all options that don’t look like viable options right away. Use your own morals and ethics to determine any options that can immediately be thrown out on that basis.

#3. Pros And Cons
Write down the pros and cons of your top few choices from step #2, spelling out precisely why each would be good or bad. Be sure to be very open to considering all of the pros and cons of each choice, as even the best choice will have some down side. There is no free lunch, right?

#4. Weigh The Options
Once the options are spelled out on this list, it should be a bit more obvious as to which is the better choice. If not, trust your gut and go with the option that looks most viable. Make sure you have very carefully considered each of the pros and cons, ensuring you can live with them.

#5. Make A Choice
Based on the previous steps, commit to one option. Be decisive, even if that means sometimes you will be wrong. Remember, even if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice, so you may as well choose something on purpose.

#6. Take Action
Act on your decision, and learn from it either way. Even if you are wrong, it is still better to have made a choice, rather than having your hand forced and being stuck with an option you didn’t like.

I hope this helps a bit with learning to make decisions. It will take some practice, but you can learn to do it. Start off small – like making a decision on what to have to eat, or something else simple like this. Practice with these smaller, less important decisions, and work your way up to the big stuff. In time, you will find that it gets easier and easier, just like anything else you practice.

This book may also be helpful – I have found it to be rather interesting…if you decide to buy it .

Create Your Own Future (270-page hard-cover book) How to Master the 12 Critical Factors of Unlimited Success In this fast-moving book, full of practical, proven strategies and techniques for greater achievement, Brian Tracy explains the 12 factors that underlie success in every field.

Create Your Own Future

Friday, April 17th, 2009, by bp and is filed under "Self-Improvement, doubt, Self Confidence, Self Esteem, success, worry ". You can leave a response here, or send a Trackback from your own site.