Most of us have made poor choices in our lives, including risky career choices, what-the-hell-was-I-thinking partnerships, & practically every ’80s fashion trend. And while we should learn from our mistakes, simply because we have to live with the consequences of a poor choice doesn’t ensure we won’t make that same mistake again. That’s why Ways to Avoid Making Bad Decisions are vital.
An old joke says, “We don’t get wiser as we grow up. We simply run out of stupid things to do.”. Despite that joke, we can make bad decisions at any stage of life, whether picking a subject or investing our retirement money.
Often those decisions cost us dearly & often go beyond control. Today, we will discuss How to Avoid Making Bad Decisions.
Avoid Making Bad Decisions Rationally
1. Gather As Much Information As You Can
Information is vital while making a decision & with no or less information, your decision will be wrong. Whether buying a new phone or property, gather as much data as possible. Research online, talk to friends & colleagues to avoid possible goof-ups later.
Though we live in the information age, honest & true information is often unavailable. Often information about a product or service comes from paid reviews. It may happen that the person you are asking doesn’t have full knowledge.
Partial data is more damaging than no data. Try to uncover honest & unbiased information which will aid you in making good decisions. While searching for such information, trust your instincts.
2. Don’t Avoid Reality
Too many people ignore the reality of the situation at hand & instead live in an “if only” or “I wish” dream world. Be truthful to yourself. Making decisions based on what you wish would, should, or might happen is not a productive way to approach problem-solving.
The outcomes will always be different from what you require to go properly. Ask a trustworthy buddy to be honest with you if you find it challenging to take a realistic look at your life. You may not like the truth, but you must know it to make wise decisions.
3. Don’t Take Decisions When You Are Overwhelmed
Making a decision is a logical & rational process. Therefore, avoiding making it when you are overwhelmed is one of the Ways to Avoid Making Bad Decisions.
We often get overwhelmed with joy, sadness, stress, despair, anxiety & much more. At that time, we cannot think logically & any decision taken at those moments tends to be bad.
Pause for a moment when you are feeling overwhelmed. Take your time to assume full control over your emotions & rationality. Then make a decision.
Suppose in a meeting, your disagreement with your superior infuriated you & you decided to resign on the spot. That is a bad decision. Think about it again in a cool brain, then decide.
4. Don’t Make Excuses
Excuses ultimately distract you from the challenges you must overcome to improve. Produce more. Be healthier. Establish lasting connections. Excuses are deviations from the truth. They shift the responsibility & rob you of your ability to decide for yourself.
Excuses prevent you from taking responsibility for your own choices & the results they have. You’ll make smarter decisions if you take the initiative & chart your own course.
5. Don’t Settle For Less
Fear is the source of settling. I might not receive a better offer. Therefore, I’ll take this position. Because I might not be able to find anyone else, date this individual. Your entire life will become unstable if you settle.
Take action & decide what you want. What are your firm principles? What matters most to you? After which, pursue it. Stop believing that you are limited in what you can do.
That thinking style will always come true; if you believe it, it will happen. Set higher expectations for both yourself & other people. Make decisions based on those ideas after that.
6. Don’t Take Too Much Time
If you want to know How to Avoid Making Bad Decisions, don’t take too much time while making one. We often get so occupied with the idea of making a \perfect’ decision we completely forget the fact that time is passing by while considering the pros & cons of all options available.
It is not stated to make a hasty decision; it is only implied to consider the unrenewable factor called time. If you fail to decide at a proper time, time will decide for you, & you may not like it. Be rational, logical, & swift while making a decision.
7. Avoid Usual Mistakes
Making judgments based on best-case assumptions or speculating about potential adverse outcomes are two examples of Ways to Avoid Making Bad Decisions. Pay close attention to those areas if you consistently have problems making decisions, such as not having enough time or information.
Other common hazards include being stuck in the “what worked before” mindset or being overly proud of your accomplishments.
8. Don’t Let Information Overload Delay You
Don’t let information overload delay your decision-making process is an answer to How to Avoid Making Bad Decisions. Information asymmetry, or having too much information rather than too enough, can be debilitating.
It is simple to obtain data in such large quantities that it is nearly hard to identify what is pertinent & significant.
People’s decisions make less & less sense—if they can even do so. It is also worth pointing out that a total inability to make decisions is a potential result of having too much knowledge. The conclusion is that you should pay more attention to the quality of information than quantity.
Some Books on How To Make Good Decisions
One of the most prominent Ways to Avoid Making Bad Decisions is to make good ones. These books can help you with that:
- 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, and Howard Raiffa.
- Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.
- The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz.
- Why Not?: How to Use Everyday Ingenuity to Solve Problems Big And Small by Barry Nalebuff and Ian Ayres.
- Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths.
- How to Make Sense of Any Mess: Information Architecture for Everybody by Abby Covert.
FAQs
Q: I don’t feel confident while making a decision, is that bad?
A: Any unconfident decision is a bad decision; find out the reason for the lack of your confidence & treat it accordingly.
Q: I am not confident while deciding, as I have made plenty of bad decisions in the past. How to overcome it?
A: We all have made some bad decisions in the past. If you have learned the lesson & apply it while making a new decision, it may be a good one.
Q: Can I decide for someone else?
A: Yes, you can if you have all the information. However, it is advisable to encourage them to make their own decision.
