Sometimes even the simplest decisions, such as which shirt to buy, can bring you to a halt. Making a big, prospective life-changing decision is like climbing a tall mountain. What if you make the wrong choice? It can feel enticing to delay decision-making & procrastinate. Not making a decision means not having to worry about potential consequences. But even procrastination can bring unfavorable consequences. That’s why learning Ways to Make Critical Life Decisions is vital.
It’s normal to encounter many different emotions while making a decision. It’s general to be afraid & worried and sometimes even feel regret. It’s rare to find anyone who hasn’t experienced life without regretting anything.
Ways to Make Critical Life Decisions
1. Ask Yourself Proper Questions
Whether you are choosing something minor or something which might change your life drastically, it can help to ask the proper questions. When thinking about what to wear to the party, you might ask yourself, “what is this party for & how should I appear?”
But for a prospective life-changing decision, thinking deeper can be helpful. Asking yourself the following questions when trying to make a big decision can be helpful:
- What are my other options?
- What are the pros & cons of each result of this decision?
- How can I manage every result?
- How can I cope if the decision goes wrong?
- Am I giving up anything by making this decision?
- Will this decision impact my overall well-being?
- How will this decision affect people around me?
- What if I fail miserably?
- What if I succeed?
2. Understand the Power of Decision Making
One of the Ways to Make Critical Life Decisions is to understand the power of it before jumping to any conclusion.
All decisions that you make will cause a chain of events. When you decide to pick up a cigarette to smoke, that decision may motivate you to pick up another one later. After someday, you may have gone through a pack without realizing it. But if you choose not to go for that first cigarette & decide every five minutes to divert your attention somewhere else when you get that longing, your longings will ultimately drop, & you will become a non-smoker.
It goes back to doing that first act of deciding whether or not to pick up that cigarette. Every decision you make in life is connected to individual factors, like personality, anxiety, & level of stress. Be conscious of your present situation to make a choice when you feel yourself going into a habit.
3. Do A SWOT Analysis
Before making a big decision, doing a SWOT analysis can be helpful. SWOT is an acronym for Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat. Make an excel sheet with four columns & note down the factors of every available option.
First, note down all the strengths & skills you have to make that decision. Secondly, note down your weaknesses that can hamper that decision. Thirdly, list all the opportunities you currently have to execute the decision & opportunities you may invite by executing that decision. Lastly, note all the threats you may face while executing that decision.
Noting things down that way will give you a clearer picture of your situation & the outcomes of each decision. Always go for the decision to reap maximum benefits with fewer risks & threats.
4. Trust Your Guts
We often take too much time to decide as we fear the outcome. As a result, we do things like careful planning, deep analysis, and considering the pros & cons before deciding. This is a time-consuming practice.
Instead, just trust your gut. Your first instinct is usually the right one or the one you should go with. The gut instinct is a type of information processing, & researchers call it the “predictive processing framework.” This prepares the brain to manage the situation in the best way possible.
Even if you commit an error, going with your gut makes you more confident than people who take years to decide.
5. Be Comfortable With The Idea Of Failure
One of the dreadful parts of making decisions is knowing there’s a chance of making the wrong decision, which can lead to failure. When we identify that we are human, we make mistakes & we will unavoidably face failure; it becomes much easier with decision-making as we believe that we can get through whatever the result is.
Being comfortable with the idea of failure can take practice. So how can you do better? It takes understanding that failures don’t feel great, but there’s scope to improve & move forward. Failure is unavoidable, & it’s all about how to face & move forward.
6. Set A Deadline
Setting a deadline is one excellent answer to the question How to Make a Big Decision. It will encourage you to “take the bull by the horns” & make a decision. It can be a helpful way to avoid the frozen state of decision. Setting a deadline helps us to move forward instead of being stuck in fear of making the wrong choice.
The best way to set a decision-making deadline is to schedule your final decision date, so you can have some time to consider the pros & cons, & other factors. Remember, giving yourself time to research & gather data can be helpful, but it can also cause procrastination.
7. Ask For Support
You may think asking for help to make a decision is showing weaknesses. Depending on a strong support network can be precious when you are finding it hard to make a big decision.
It’s okay to ask for advice & their perspectives, but it can be irritating when you constantly do that because you can’t gather courage or confidence. Instead of asking people what they would have done, ask for their viewpoint. You may find a new perspective you hadn’t considered before.
Choose your circle of such people wisely, as some may not be well-wishers. They might mislead you. Always go to people you can trust.
Final Thoughts
You’re not alone if you are having trouble making a big decision. Even the most confident, self-assured people can frequently experience decision paralysis. The most vital factor to remember is that there is no ideal choice or a single right choice. There are ups & downs to every single decision that we make.
It is vital to realize that you can execute your decision, whether it goes well or not. There’s also no perfect approach to making big decisions. Each person will have different aspects & most vital to them when it is about making a decision. A helpful first step is to learn Ways to Make Critical Life Decisions & what is most vital to you.
FAQs
Q: Why do some people hesitate to make big decisions?
A: As stated earlier, they are not confident about themselves or the outcome or are afraid of failure.
Q: There are several Ways to Make Critical Life Decisions; which is most effective?
A: Decision-making is the process of collecting steps. It can’t be singled out.
Q: Is there any books that can help me to improve my decision-making skills?
A: There are many such books. Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work by Dan Heath and Chip Heath, Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts by Annie Duke, Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions by John S. Hammond, Ralph L. Keeney & Howard Raiffa, and Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman is just some of them.
