Better decisions in 3 easy steps!
Everyday we are faced with a myraid of decisions - from what to wear, what to eat, which way to drive to work etc etc etc - and each one of these decisions takes energy - so we want to make the best decisions in the shortest amount of time with the least amount of effort as possible - here's what I've found useful.
(the below assumes that you have already done the necessary steps to obtain all the relevant information for making a good decision)
1. Try removing the emotion
If I was to remove how I felt about this, what would I be thinking about this? Emotion is such a strong driver, capable of overturning the most compelling logic, stopping a sound argument in its tracks, and giving up on the strictest of diets. Removing the emotion helps show a logical viewpoint and may be what's needed to progress your decision.
2. Play it forward
The next part is closely related. Emotion is about how I feel right now. Imagine what your decision will look like 1 week, month, year from now, or 5 years from now. Will your convictions still be as strong? Will what you decide now actually matter? What else has happened as a result of this decision?
3. Just do it!
Finally, don’t be afraid to make a choice. It's likely that the options you are deliberating on are all right (i.e. you have removed the wrong or negative options), that being the case, are you are arguing over which option is more right?
It’s been speculated that in hindsight over 80% of the choices and decisions we make could have been done a better way. Knowing that we could have done it better anyway is it really worth the mental energy thinking any more about it?
Waiting for perfection is never as smart as making progress. - Seth Godin
