Decision Making Made Simple
During the process of changing careers, you’ll have many opportunities to make decisions. For some of us, making a decision is a challenge. While there are whole books devoted to the topic, here are some quick tips to make decision making easier.
- Wait until the last minute—We are changing every day, every moment in fact. If we are alert to life around us, we grow at warp speed. The decision you make about a project three months away could easily be outdated in three months—because you are a different person. For this reason alone, hold off on making decisions until the last possible moment. Sure, gather facts. Ask questions. Then write the facts and answers down somewhere and let them go. Decide when you’ll decide. And wait.
- Be alert to your feelings—Our feelings can help us decide what to do. Are we excited about the prospect facing us? Or do we feel so-so? If we have a feeling of dread, is it because our internal compass is saying to “stay away?” Our intuition often speaks to us through our feelings. But feelings can also be tricky: they can also be automatic, learned responses based on past conditioning. For example, the feeling of fear of talking at a meeting could simply be conditioning against speaking out, not an intuitive signal to stay quiet.
- Be alert to your thoughts—Are you trying to talk yourself into a particular choice? Does one option seem more logical and therefore you think you “should”? If you’re trying to talk yourself into something, it might be a clue that your heart is not going along with it. When your heart’s not along for the ride…watch out.
- Write out the scenarios—In a private notebook, write you’re your future would be like if you decided on choice A. Where would this choice lead you? How would you feel? When you finish, notice how you feel right now. Next, on another sheet of paper, do the same for choice B. When you’re finished, notice how you feel. Put the two papers away, engaging your thoughts as little as you can. Continue to pay attention, instead, to your feelings. What is the right choice…for you? What makes you smile the most?
- Talk to a friend—It’s amazing how easily the thoughts unravel in our head when we talk with a trusted friend, advisor, or mentor about them. Before the talk, consider following the tips above first so that your time with them will be the most productive.
- When all else fails—Toss a coin. But don’t necessarily do what the coin toss says. Instead, use it to gauge your heart’s feelings and your body’s responses to the decision.
Remember, some decisions are NOT worth the time you’re spending on them.
- You don’t have to be perfect
- You don’t have to do everything right
- You don’t even have to learn from your mistakes
- We just get to make them.
