Decision Making
Tips & Secrets

How to make great decisions

Here are some decision making tips for you to consider before you even make a decision. By considering these ideas, when it comes time to decide, you will know how to make faster decisions.

Some of these ideas may be contrary to popular opinion. But... they are used by effective decision makers.

Using these decision making tips means not just that you make great decisions, but you also make your life easier for yourself!

You are No.1

When making your decisions, put yourself first. It's important that you're better off as a result of making the decision.

This may seem selfish, but it's better than spending your life doing things for others that you don't want to be doing, and/or not having time to spend on what you really want to do for yourself.

This does not mean that everyone else can go to hell!! In relationships, of course, there will be times when you do things for your partner, knowing that sometimes they will put themselves out for you. (If this is not happening, it's worth spending the time to sort it out!)

This is the first and most important of these decision making tips if you want to take care of yourself.

 

Your Family

If you consider your family important to you, demonstrate this by creating work-life balance in your decision making. As above, it's important not to compromise your family either. Whatever decision you make, you and your family should benefit in the short-term and in the long-term.

Many people, however, use this as an excuse for continuing as they are. The typical example is to say they are working long hours so that the family can have money. The family, of course, want to be spending time with this person.

If you prefer working to spending time with your family, then do just this. And don't compromise yourself or them by pretending anything else.

Make your own decisions

If you allow others to make decisions for you instead of making your own decisions, then they are running your life. In effect, you're giving them control and you are living the life they think you should have.

Who's life do you want to live?

Some more ideas on making that difficult decision...

Take responsibility

This is a big one. In order to take responsibility for your own decision making, it's useful to have a decision making process that works for you and to know something about your own values and principles.

Of the decision making tips, this is often the one that people are most reluctant to take on, and the one that has the most impact!

When you do take responsibility many things become available to you.

• If things don't go according to plan (as they sometimes don't!) you're never a victim
• You immediately consider what you can do differently and you act on it
• You are free to make a different decision at any time
• You are prepared for the consequences, whatever they are
• Other people respect you
• It makes it easier for them to take responsibility for their own decisions

How will it work out?

Most people want to know how things will pan out before they make a decision. This is a decision mistake and is usually counter-productive. The world is chaotic, unpredictable, and unexpected things happen. It's much more useful to take things one step at a time. To make a decision, you only need to know what the single next step is that will get you closer to your outcome. Then, having taken this step, you decide what the next step is.

You will notice that some of these decision making tips overlap. And to implement some of them, it's easier if you have others in place. An important thing to bear in mind when reading these tips for decision making, is that the whole process is more than the sum of the parts. An important aspect of the decision making process is you!

Assess and update

Having made your decision and started into action, it's important to continually assess what's going on. Is what you're doing getting you to where you want to go?

If it's not you may need to make a different decision. It seems obvious and yet it's amazing to notice the number of people who think that once they've made a decision they have to stick to it. Even if it's not getting them what they want!

Permission to change

Give yourself permission to change your mind. Always. At any time.

If you made a commitment to something in the past that is no longer useful for you, you are allowed to give up that commitment. Changing your mind may be the first step to changing your life and learning something new.

Change your decision reluctantly

This may seem like a contradiction to the last one of the decision making tips. Those who are successful in life are able to make great decisions and are slow to change them. People who are not as successful tend to change their mind a lot.

There are lots of decision making tips to be had from studying successful people because they know how to make great decisions. They choose goals and keep aiming at them, regardless of the obstacles that arise.

Many people who fail do so because at the first or second hurdle, they give up. They change their mind, make a different decision. Then at the next big hurdle they make a different decision again.

So do successful people never change their mind? Of course they do. They make a different decision if it becomes obvious that the goal they are aiming for is no longer viable or becomes detrimental, or if something better appears. Then they commit 100% to the new decision.

Read more tips on the business decision making process and more ideas on how to improve your decision making skills...

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