This is one of the biggest questions I get from my clients: how to decide between various courses of action. When faced with a decision that could have a major impact on one’s life, many people simply shut down and fail to decide at all (allowing this to happen is its own decision, too).
That said, there is no one right way to make decisions, and certainly no way to guarantee “success,” but in this article, I will give you some tools that you can use that can help you to make the decisions that move you towards a more rewarding life.
So, we know some basic tools, making a list of Pros and Cons, not bad. Good start. To that you can also create Best Case, Worst Case, and Most Likely scenarios for each choice, and evaluate them accordingly. You can also, at this point, try to come up with new and interesting solutions, even crazy ones, that perhaps you didn’t think of before, then you could evaluate those to see if you like them better.
Next, imagine yourself two years (or 20) in the future, looking back on this moment. From that vantage point, what will you wish you had done today? What would you regret not doing? If reporters found out about your decision and published it on the front page of the New York Times, how would that make you feel? Proud? Ashamed? Assume that people will find out about your decisions and factor that in.
Think of someone you admire. It could be George Soros, Brittany Spears, or Queen Elizabeth, what matters is that this is someone who has done something you want to do. Now, imagine you could have a conversation with this person, what would he or she advise you to do? By the way, you can do this with fictional characters as well, like James Bond or Batman.
Look at the question from a bigger point than yourself. If it’s a business decision, ask what the company needs. If it’s about your marriage, ask yourself what the marriage needs (as if it were its own entity). If it’s about your town, ask what the community needs, even if it’s something that may go against what you want for yourself.
To take the last idea up even one more level, you can appeal to your Higher Power. Again, it doesn’t matter what name, if any, you use. God, Allah, Karma, Goddess, Earth, Compassion, as long as it is true to you. Ask him / her / it / them for guidance, then listen.
Check your body. Imagine you just made a decision. How does it feel? Do you feel stronger, or more at peace? Or do you feel queasy? Your body doesn’t lie, but you need to pay attention to it.
Lastly, ask yourself what you would do if you knew you couldn’t possibly fail. What I believe is that, in a way, you can’t fail. I believe that when we try to do something we have a desire to do, that is done from a place of service and love, we can’t fail. Either we achieve the goal we were hoping for, or we achieve some other goal (Life sometimes throws curve balls that way), or we learn something valuable in the process, or even if we make a mess, the chance to clean it up still offers us valuable experience. As long as you’re acting in good faith and learning, you can’t fail. That takes some of the pressure off, now doesn’t it? Perhaps just taking pressure off makes the process a little easier…
Article Tags:business, career, coach, coaching, david kaiser, goals, inspiration, leaders, leadership, life, Performance, productivity, strategy, success, time management, work
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