One of the hardest things we have to do as humans is to make decisions. Life would be so much easier with a crystal ball in hand: the allure of foreseeing the future. Or is it really an excuse to step out of our power and hand over the reins to someone or something else to guide and direct us, or even more common: to stay stuck.
Our fear of course in making decisions is that we get it wrong or make a mistake. I don’t believe that there is such a thing really. Decisions bring us on different paths, they are just our alternate paths in life. I believe our most valuable learning and growth comes from the road less traveled.
If you think of life as navigating across a country – are you going to stick to the motorway the entire journey? or take in some sights along the side roads and perhaps even chance the precarious coast road at times ? just for the scenery!
When you are faced with a decision, it’s not always clear which is which. For sure you’ll have greater insight in hindsight.
5 tips to help you make better decisions
1. It’s a ‘No’ until it’s a Yes
In many cases you are better off not rushing a decision. Give yourself adequate time to think about it and come to your decision. Set what you think is a reasonable time to let your thoughts and emotions settle and to follow the steps below.
Stick with a default of no, until ‘yes’ feels really right and you are ready to move forward. In most cases you are safer without making a decision rather than making an emotionally charged or poorly thought out choice.
If you are being pressurized by the seller or anyone else around you, you might want to consider this: Do you believe in what’s meant for you won’t go by you? Personally, I’m not into any pushy sales tactics of any kind.
2. Do your research
This goes for everything – make out your criteria and the specifics of what you are looking for.
It will help narrow down your search. Think of it as if you are writing a mini advert. What are the features of what you need and also what do you want to feel ? Feelings are important as that is what will tell you that you are making the right decision for you, for now.
3. Tease out your pro’s and cons’s
Write out all your thoughts about your decision, for and against or pro’s and cons. Processing our thoughts is essential and getting them down on pen and paper (or via keyboard and screen) will bring an immense amount of clarity. It will also help you see that you are making your decision from the best of your ability right now. No matter what happens in the future, you can come back to your thoughts and learn from how you made this particular decision and make changes going forward.
4. End decision paralysis ‘Now’
As my mother once said to me ‘no one is dead’ when talking about the fall-out of some decisions and stories that played out in my life, it was about all I had to grapple! It’s true though. Not to be morbid, but death is about the only thing we cannot reverse.
We truly don’t know what will happen in the future so decisions should be made for now. Right now, for where we are in our lives and what we know – go with your best decision.
5. Go with your gut
One of my favourite sayings is think less and feel more. If it feels right in your gut, that is your intuition guiding you, on your best path. Our intuition is our connection to source or the universal power and if we follow it, we are choosing our soul path. That’s not always the smoothest but it is our best path for growth, success and fulfillment. In your gut, the right decision will feel right. More often than not, your decision will feel peaceful and exciting! That’s how you know it’s your gut feeling, that’s how you know it’s right. Go with that !
Tell me in the comments – how are you going to move forward with making decisions easier ?
I love this! Especially do your research! I am a huge advocate for researching!!! Research EVERYTHING! <3
Thanks for the tips Noelle! I particularly like “think less and feel more”. On the few occasions when I’ve ignored my intuition and thought other people must know better/more than me, I found that I was right to begin with! Love “What’s meant for you won’t go by you” too. No pushy sales for me either. If it’s not a resounding YES, then I like to take time to mull over things.