Do you have trouble making decisions? Do you often agonize about whether you’ve made the right choice? Do you beat yourself up if you discover you’ve made a bad decision?
Almost everyone experiences these feelings. I struggled with decision-making until I came across a few tips and developed strategies that gave me more clarity and peace. Here they are.
Do Your Due Diligence
This means doing complete and comprehensive research on all issues connected to your decision. Many fail this step because they don’t go far enough in their research. They get tired, frustrated, or just lazy. Some people do not research but instead depend on other sources.
If a person relies solely on a television commercial, consumer magazine, or recommendation from a “friend,” they will likely make a poor decision. More importantly, they will probably make one that is not in their best interest. For example, if you’re buying a new car, you must search for information that satisfies your criteria for the ideal new vehicle! This should not be your friend’s criteria, society’s criteria (via advertisements), or your ego’s criteria. You do not want to end up with a car you can’t afford when you’d be much happier in a less expensive car.
You probably know what research you should do and what phone calls you should make to gather the information needed to make a wise choice. The question is whether you’ll do the necessary work or just come up with excuses or rationalizations for not doing it.
Doing your due diligence is extremely worthwhile because it will help you make an informed and intelligent decision—and often one that saves you a great deal of money! 😀 Most importantly, it will enable you to make a solid decision about which you can be at peace.
Step Away, Relax, Let It Come
Never make an important decision on the spot or even on the same day if possible. It’s crucial that you step away from it, relax, and let the answer come. If you make a quick decision without allowing the decision to rest, you do not give the vast resources of your subconscious mind time to work on an answer and communicate it to your conscious mind.
To receive guidance from your subconscious mind, you must be relaxed and receptive. The best way to do this is to do something relaxing, like taking a nap, going for a walk, or working in your garden.
I found that a nap or overnight sleep gives your subconscious mind the ideal working conditions. When I do this, I regularly get answers and further research ideas. This is why I keep a notepad next to my bed. If it’s a very important decision, I always sleep on it.
If you have done your due diligence to the best of your ability, the answer will come in some form. The answer may be clear, slightly leaning in one direction, or more of a calculated gamble.
Perfection is Impossible
There is always a risk in almost every decision. It’s not possible to see around corners or over mountains. There is no way that you can know every angle that you should look at when making decisions. Especially, the ones you have never dealt with before. However, your due diligence skills and decision-making skills will improve with experience.
The self-beating you give yourself after you’ve made a bad decision comes from expecting your decision record to be perfect. The peace comes when you accept the fact that it is impossible to make the right decision every time. However, you can have a perfect record of learning something from every decision.
If you’ve researched the issue thoroughly, you can be at peace with your decision regardless of whether it works in your favor or not. If you have done your research to the best of your ability and thought through the decision completely, you’ll come out on top more often than not.
Perfect decision-making is impossible, so just let that go! Instead, count on learning something to sharpen your skills regardless of the outcome.
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Do your research, relax and rest, and then let the answer come. Once you’ve made the decision, be at peace knowing that you did your best and that the notion of always making the right choice is impossible! But learning something from the process is.