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How do you make a wise decision?

You will always need to make a decision in life, in fact, there will never be a day when you don’t have to make a decision. Whether it is for something important or something more mundane, you will often find that you are wondering how to make the right decision in life.

Examples of decisions we make every day

What to wear, what to eat, what to watch on Netflix, what to do at the weekend?…….the list of questions that we ask ourselves and decisions that we have to make daily sometimes seem exhausting.

For the most part, the smaller, more inconsequential questions are the ones that cause us so much deliberation, whilst more important life-changing decisions can be made in what seems a fraction of the time.

What causes this deliberation and what can we do to make decision-making easier? What practices can we put in place that will save us time and stress when it comes to making decisions?

Regardless of the magnitude of the decision that you have to make, making the correct decision is important.

23 Steps for making decisions

1. Don’t give in to stress

   It is all too easy when you are faced with difficult decisions to get stressed and anxious. We make decisions all of the time and usually for most of them, we barely think about them.

   Decisions that have much more of an impact or longevity in our lives can certainly leave us feeling more hesitant and can bring about much greater levels of stress and anxiety.

   The key is to not rush into making a decision. Facing it with reason and time will serve you much better.

   If you find that even thinking about making the decision is raising your stress levels then you need to walk away from it for a period of time.

   Go out for a walk to clear your head, do some invigorating exercise, play some relaxing music, and practice some meditation.

   Do whatever makes you relaxed and centred and then come back to the question when you are feeling calmer, and in a more rational place.

2. Weigh up the pros and cons

   One of the simplest solutions when it comes to making a decision regardless of how important it is is to make a list of the pros and cons.

   This is a simple hack that will keep your mind focused on the issues at hand and will let you see in a straightforward way, the best and worst aspects of the decision that you have to make.

   This trick helps you to put the issue into perspective and stops you from becoming too overwhelmed.

3. Make sure that it is something you want to do

   Too many decisions can be made with other people in mind and can leave you feeling annoyed frustrated or put upon. When faced with making a decision, make sure that it is something that you want to do, and that you don’t feel that you are being coerced into something.

4. Stay true to your values and core beliefs

   Just as important as making sure that a decision made is for something you want to do, so is making sure you make a decision that reflects your own core values and beliefs. Staying true to yourself will make you happier and will make sure that you make the right decision in the end.

5. Talk it through with someone you trust

If you are really struggling to decide on your own then talking it through with somebody you trust and respect can be a good alternative.

They can help you see the broader picture and can give you more clarity or they can offer up another perspective for you.

6. Plan how you will tell other people

If you are making a decision that is going to affect other people then plan how you are going to tell them. If you believe that someone is going to react negatively to the decision that you have made or is going to try and talk you out of it, then planning how you are going to tell them will make it much easier.

You will have all of your answers ready and can counterargue anything negative that they throw at you. You are also far more likely to stay resolved to your original decision.

7. Consider all of your options

Carefully considering all of your options will give you the best chance of making the correct choice for you. Deliberating over your decision and looking at it from all sides means that you will have studied every conceivable outcome and will give you far greater peace of mind than just rushing in without weighing up your options.

8. Trust your gut instinct

Some of the best decisions that you will make will have been because you listened to your gut instinct. This is a very powerful tool that you have and one that will usually always serve you well.

Trusting your instinct can save you from a lot of deliberation and you are often going to follow paths that you have followed before that have served you well.

9. Write your thoughts down in a journal

Having a journal to hand when making decisions can make your task so much easier. You can write down all of the pros and cons of the decision and you can make a much clearer decision based on them.

It also gives you the option to walk away and take some time out before deciding as everything is stored and you are not relying on your memory for the facts. Writing in a journal can also take the emotion out of decision-making.

10. Take the emotion out of the equation

There will often be decisions in life that need to be approached from a position of no emotion. Although we all have emotions and use them to make many of the big decisions in life such as a partner, career, friends or home, there will be times when emotions have to be left to one side.

Make sure that you are in control of your emotions to be able to do this when it arises.

11. Look closely at the other side of the argument

Most decisions will have two sides to them so make sure that you look closely at both before coming to your final decision.

When choosing a place to live, for example, don’t just go for the place that you like the best, you need to weigh up many other factors before signing on the dotted line.

Always make sure that you are prepared to look at the other side of the argument before jumping in.

12. Don’t let the past dictate a decision about your future

We can all learn from the past but don’t let it dictate all of the decisions that you make in the future. Often what was right in a past circumstance may not be appropriate now, this must be taken into account when making current decisions.

13. Don’t give yourself too many options

Never have too many options in front of you when you are trying to make a decision, it will just muddy the waters and you will no doubt find that you are unable to come to a decision.

Often it is better to have no more than three options when choosing something or making a decision. This will make it far easier to weigh up each choice carefully beforehand and will not overwhelm you.

14. Imagine your life 1, 2 and 5 years into the future

There will be many big decisions in life that will be taken that will affect your life years into the future. These are the decisions that you will have to give more time and attention to.

Looking at your life 1, 2and 5 years into the future will help you to assess if you are making the right decision. Will you still be happy five years from now with the decision that you have made? One year from now will this decision still be working for you?

15. Assess how the decision fits into your short, medium and long-term goals

Goal setting is the simplest and most effective way of making sure that you achieve things in life. Without goals, there can be the tendency to just drift along aimlessly, never really achieving anything or getting the life that you want.

Make short, medium and long-term plans and then assess how any decisions that you make will fit into these goals.

16. Try to take into account unknown elements of a decision

Making decisions can at times be a complex process. Some decisions can be quick and easy to make and can almost be an impulse reaction, such as what to eat.

Other decisions are going to be far more complex and will need you to take into account unknown elements that may occur at a later date.

Be aware of this before you make any decision, being prepared is better than having to do damage control at a later date.

17. Learn lessons from past mistakes

The past can teach you so much. At times when mistakes happen, people can see them as a negative but in fact, they are one of the best ways to make decisions in the future.

If you have made a mistake in the past, this is an excellent way to decide the future by making sure that you make the opposite decision.

Learn from the mistakes that you have made in the past and don’t repeat them in your future making decisions.

18. Make sure you get all the facts

Be clear and precise about all the facts to hand before you rush into making a decision, especially if it is going to have major consequences in your life.

Fact-check every detail before committing, this can save you so much stress, time, money and complications later on.

19. Keep a flexible outlook

Always be prepared to change and be flexible when you have made a decision. There can always be times that crop up when plans have to change or decisions have to be remade, so make sure that you are prepared in advance to be flexible.

20. Make sure your decision will still allow fun in your life

When you are making important decisions, the big ones in life such as career, partner, where you will live, etc, you also need to be sure that you will have a fun life and will still be doing activities that make you enjoy your life and enrich it.

Decision-making should not mean that you have to compromise on the way that you spend your life and the enjoyment that you get from it.

21. Do what is right for you not what you think other people want you to do

Ultimately, whatever decisions you make in life they have to be the ones that are right for you.

There is no point in deciding if it is based on what someone else wants you to do.

You will end up resenting them for the choices that you have made and will have made a choice that probably isn’t based on your core values and beliefs.

Make sure that all decisions that you make are right for you, this is the only way to ensure a happy outcome.

22. Asses what will happen if you don’t make a decision

When making a decision look at the outcome if you don’t follow through with it. How will affect your life, will it be positive or negative?

Assessing the outcome of not making a decision is important as it can have repercussions later on down the line.

23. Sleep on the decision you have made and then reassess

Often going to bed on a decision and waking up the next day is a great way to assess whether the decision that you have made is the right one.

Do you still get excited about it? Do you still feel it is the best decision you could have made? Do you feel you should have made an alternative choice?

These questions can often be answered more coherently after a good night’s sleep.

Sleeping on a decision will also prevent you from rushing into something. Space and time can often be great assets to prevent you from making mistakes, especially if decisions have been made in the spare of the moment.

Final Thoughts

How do you know you have made the right decision in your life? This is a question that you and only you can often answer. It will be something that you will often know from the results that you have or from the way that you feel.

Ultimately our right to choose and make our own decisions in life is one of the most important liberties that we have. Life is going to throw many important decisions your way and it will be up to you to make them.

How to make the right decision in life is all a matter of weighing up and deciding from a calm, rational place.

If you feel that you need some assistance in making the best decisions for you then working with a coach could be what you need.

They will give you the time and the space to come to your own decision in a safe and unpressured environment.

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