Do you wince and hope someone else takes action when a decision must be made? If your answer is yes, youre not alone. Were all faced with many decisions every day, ranging from what to have for lunch to selecting a new product for manufacturing. Many of us freeze when were faced with decisions, even small ones. Were afraid of making the wrong choice. If youre one of those people who hate to make decisions, you can be sure of one thing. This inability can halt your career and your business dead in its tracts. But the good news, is there is something you can do about overcoming your indecisiveness. You can gain confidence in your ability to make decisions by making the process easier so that it is more likely to be successful. Most people are abdicators, not decision makers, and theyre not even aware of who they abdicate or that they even do it. People will usually just wait for things to happen instead of making them happen. They doubt or criticize decisions theyre committed to, and then turn away from the goals they could achieve. This often results in frustration, procrastination, feelings of hopelessness, and unhappiness. And worst of all, most people dont even realize they have this problem. You always have options when youre faced with a decision. And if you look closely at all of your options you will find that few of them are bad. Unfortunately, people will simply discard an option as soon as they withdraw themselves from it. By the same token, an option becomes a decision when you invest yourself in it. What makes a decision work? It is almost always the decision-maker and not the choice, that makes it work. Any failure has little to do with the choice. It is always traceable and proportional to the lack of dedicated commitment on the part of the decision-maker. Choices are good only if you make them good. The most important step in making a successful decision is to actually make the decision. The act of making a decision is almost always more important than the substance of the decision itself. Conversely, indecision and not making a choice, invalidates all your options because it paralyzes you. But the more you make decisions, the more natural the process becomes. Here are eight steps that will help you eliminate difficulties and help you make better decisions. 1. List all of your options on paper. Judgment should play no role at this point. You simply make a list of all your options, no matter how ridiculous they may look. You need to let your subconscious mind freely come up with ideas, no matter how disconnected they may seem. 2. Think about your choices. This means sorting out your feelings about all your choices. If you find it hard to feel anything about some of them, then theyre probably not worth your attention. Remember, this is not a logical analysis. Youre simply letting your thoughts come as they will, much in they way you thought about your options. 3. Observe your feelings. Youll be comfortable with some options and uncomfortable with others. Some seem good and some seem wrong. Youre now applying judgment to them. Its important that you dont rush to a conclusion. That will only result in an impulsive decision, which is often a bad one. Be patient and take you own feelings seriously. 4. Relate your choices to your priorities. Create a list of priorities for each question that requires a decision. Write down the list, then put your options against it. If you have well-established priorities, this will be easy. If you dont, take extra time with this step. 5. Designate your choice. Most of the time your choice will sneak up on you before you even realize youve made a decision. Things should begin to fall together for you at this point. You should feel good about yourself and what you want. This strengthens your confidence in yourself, and strengthens your identity. 6. Register your decision. Let it become part of you. Discard the other options, let them drift away. At this point youre putting it all together in preparation for action. Do not backtrack. Keep moving forward towards your final decision. 7. Commit to your decision. Dont drag your feet, look back, or wonder. Choice becomes a decision when implementation takes place. Focus your time, energy, self, and purpose on the decision. If you cant do this and you are still thinking about alternatives, then your decision will be not be good because youre not able to let go of those other options. 8. Help yourself in every way possible to make your decision work. Other decisions might have worked just as well, but you have to be loyal and optimistic about the one you've made. The best decisions are possible only when you know what you feel. You will feel a sense that the process of coming to a real decision has been healthy, satisfying, and creative. Having successful experiences with the decision process is the best way to become a successful decision-maker. And, if you look back through your life, you will often find that youve broken through some of the blocks that have troubled you in the past, without even knowing it. This process can be time-consuming and exhausting, especially when it is applied to a complex problem. It demands a wide range of thinking techniques and skills. But it is all a process, and only by following this process will you give yourself the ability to think more wisely about the future. Above all present your decision confidently in the spirit of lets try this, but be ready to change any decision to cut your loses. For most of the decisions you make, you wont be able to get all the facts, so always trust your intuition. Your intuition is the result of accessing the vast reservoir of knowledge and experience that is stored in your subconscious mind. Dont, however, go strictly on your intuition on a big decision where the knowledge of an expert like an accountant or a lawyer can be helpful. A quick call can often minimize your risk. Decision-making, however well it is practiced, doesnt guarantee infallibility. But if it is executed professionally, it can tip the odds in favor of making a good decision, and those odds are what our life is all about. Copyright2005 by Joe Love and JLM & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. |
