Making The Right Decision Is Not Always Easy

Do you find decisions easy or difficult?

Sure, I guess some decisions in life are easy like should I stop at the stop sign up ahead or not?  The risk of getting a ticket or having an accident tips the scale pretty quickly toward stopping.  There is no reason to drag it out.

However, other decisions are not so easy.  Things aren’t always so black and white.  Decisions like, “Who should I marry?” or “What job should I take?” are often a lot more difficult and making the right decision is so incredibly crucial to having a good life.

How do you make these more difficult decisions?  I have found that it is paramount to take a little time, get the proper perspective and to gather valuable input to make the right decision in these situations.

Six strategies for making the right decision

The right choice for the more difficult questions in life usually does not jump up and bite you on the leg.  You have to go looking for it.  You’ve got to dig a little to uncover it.

Of course, these more difficult decisions warrant this additional time again because the consequences of making the wrong choice can have such an incredible impact on how your life flows.

I’ve found these six strategies very helpful for making the right decision:

1.  Step back and look at the big picture

One of the key factors involved in making the right decision in any situation is perspective.  You must view your circumstances in the proper light in order to make a good choice. 

For example, sometimes we make a mountain out of a molehill.  We view a decision to be more important than it really is.  Ask yourself, “Will my decision matter a year from now?“  If not, then it probably isn’t that big a deal.  You can relax knowing that either way the results won’t have that great of an impact.

Another good way to step back from a problem is to write it all out on paper.  The process of writing helps us to collect and organize our thoughts.  This often helps the right decision to pop out.

2.  What’s the best that could happen?

List your alternatives and then for each one ask yourself, “What’s the best that can happen if I go this route?”  Focus solely on positive outcomes at this stage. 

This will help you evaluate the potential upside of each alternative.  Don’t forget to include doing nothing as an alternative.  Which of the alternatives seems like the best direction when you look at the best that could happen?  This should help you zero in on some possibilities.

3.  What’s the worst that could happen?

Making the right decision is about calculating and balancing risk against reward.  You’ve taken a look at the potential rewards in the previous step.  Now it is time to get a handle on the risk.

What is the worst-case scenario for each of your alternatives?  What is the likelihood that the worst could happen?  What is the most likely consequence if the alternative fails?  These are some of the questions you should consider as a part of this process.

Look for alternatives with high potential rewards and low risks.  These are likely your best choices.

4.  Be courageous

Analysis is wonderful, but eventually you have to suck it up and make a decision.  You are rarely going to have perfect information.  Your predictions in the previous two strategies are simply your best guesses.

You are going to have to muster the courage to choose.  If your decision has a deadline, then not deciding is a decision in and of itself.  That’s why you need to weigh the consequences of doing nothing.

In my opinion, a courageous decision-maker that makes the wrong choice once in awhile is better than someone that procrastinates forever.

5.  Make a positive commitment

Once you’ve decided, then commit yourself to your decision.  Throw your whole self into making it work.  A half-hearted commitment is your decision’s greatest enemy. 

Poor follow-through is usually the single greatest reason a course of action fails.  See There Are No Bad Decisions Only Bad Follow-Through for more of my thoughts on this.

The bottom line is to make a decision that you can stand behind and fully support.  Otherwise, it is more likely to fail.

6.  Build a support team

Assemble a team of people to support your decision.  You can do this by seeking the opinion of others and giving them a say in the decision if it will effect them.

If this is a big decision, it is always a good idea to seek outside input.  Once you are pretty sure of your choice, but before you make the decision, get a friend or family member to play devil’s advocate with you.  This can help open your eyes to potential pitfalls.  It can also help strengthen your resolve.

You may need financial, emotional and physical support to execute your decision.  Consider all these as you build your team.  Also, be sure to recruit individuals with a wide-range of talents.

Use these strategies to make the right decision

There is no 100% correct answer to any difficult decision.  You just have to do the best you can.  Used properly, these strategies will aid you in arriving at the best conclusion.

How do you make difficult decisions?  Have I left anything out?

Photo by ivoryelephantphotography

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