What to do When Confronted with a Tough Decision
Posted May 11th, 2015
So, you’ve got a big decision to make. It could be about your career, a job, or something job related. Whatever kind of decision it is, it is big and hairy, in other words, a difficult one. How should you go about tackling a dilemma like this? How can you make a better decision? Here are a few tips.
1. Learn as much as you can.
You will make a better decision if you know more about the different choices you are facing and what they involve. Find out as much as you can about each of them.
Some people prefer to follow their instincts or their gut when they make a decision. But that doesn’t preclude information gathering. Even if you use your gut, having more information will help you make a better decision.
2. Discuss your problem with people who have had to make similar decisions.
Learning more about how others made a similar decision, how they felt about it, and the consequences of that choice will help you in your decision making. Naturally everyone is different, and so your reactions won’t be exactly the same as another person with different experiences, attitudes and beliefs. But there is enough commonality among people that another person’s process could be beneficial to your own.
3. Don’t let fear govern your decision-making process.
It is impossible to move ahead in life without taking risks, and so you should not let fear of what might happen unduly influence your choice. However, this is not to say you should discount your fear entirely because fear does serve a purpose in alerting us to danger. But in this case, you need to do a cost-benefit analysis to see if one outweighs the other. Take note of your fear, but don’t let it be the sole criterion for your decision.
Related to this is fear of how you will be perceived. What will others think if you make a particular choice? But this fear is something you need to overcome as well. You cannot let the thoughts of others rule how you live. Think about what decision you would make if no one else were around.
4. Look outside the box.
In other words, are there any alternatives available that you haven’t thought of? There may be more choices available to you than just the obvious ones.
5. Take a break from it.
Thinking about the problem constantly can become tiring. Sometimes it helps to just get away from it for a while. Go for a walk, or get some other exercise. See a movie. Often, this in itself leads to a breakthrough because your subconscious mind is working on the problem while you are distracted.
6. Imagine how you will feel about a particular choice.
Pretend you have made a particular decision. How do you feel about it? Are you energized, or do you feel a little uneasy? Sometimes this may give you a clue about which way to go.
7. Realize that there is no just right choice.
With a really tough decision, no alternative is going to be perfect. Each will have its own advantages and disadvantages. That’s part of what makes the decision so tough.
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