Decision making
Have you ever tried to make a life altering decision and then become so indecisive after you made it? Today we are going to tackle the steps to decision making and what I think the problem is after we have decided. Decision making is the act of problem solving through narrowing down a set of choices to one. It can be solved through a few outlets, our gut feelings aka intuition, or a logical reasoned process or a combination of the two. I typically use both of those outlets and it’s never seemed to fail me, it’s when I chose to ignore it and do things anyways that I find myself in a state of regret.
First what are you trying to decide on? That should be your first step. By identifying what it is you are trying to reach an outcome to will allow you to then create a checklist that should leave you with your result. After you have that then I will say gather all the information you can. Research the hell out of it. For instance with me and my move I knew I wanted to move my business. The decision was where? I started to check out spaces and realized with every one I saw that it wasn’t the right fit. Instinct wise and knowing my budget. This is why gathering the information is so crucial for you to make a sound decision.
The third step will be finding an alternate. For me I had one alternate that still haunts me right now. I highly recommend during this stage to do a pro’s and cons list and to trust your gut. The fourth step is that once you have the alternate weigh your options. For me this was getting to know the businesses I could collaborate with at each place. It was also asking my existing clientele convenience, and I asked the other renter as much as I could about the space. Look at the budget of each, which one would be harder and which one would allow for growth. The fifth step is to chose, and 6th is to take action. This means decide and follow through with it. You have gathered all the evidence, know enough about yourself and are now ready to use knowledge and your gut to take the leap.
After the dust has settled this is the time you want to review everything. This is the final step, was it the right decision for you, or do you regret it. Looking at the consequences of your decision is how you allow yourself to learn. Consequences isn’t always a bad thing, it is just the fall out events after you have made a decision, so they could essentially be great! Now that we have all the steps:
Identify the decision
Research
Find alternatives
Weigh your options through facts, data, and gut.
Make a choice
Take action
Review
It is time for you to think about the big decisions you have been putting off. The thing is we make decisions all the time that are trivial that we don’t even take a moments notice of them. It’s those big decisions that give us the heebie jeebies. Those are the ones that frighten us because they run the course of things in our life. But what if we looked at these little trivial decisions the same way? Like for example lets discuss food. We chose what we ingest, how much, when, where, and why. But without a thought we go into our pantries or fridge and find anything we can to munch on. If you think about it, doesn’t what you ingest affect your health? Doesn’t it affect your life? Yet we tend to treat it like a trivial thing.
Then we have other people who tend to put their 2 cents in on a decision you are making. When others opinions are shoved down your throat that go against the way you are leaning it can be a hard thing to stay committed to. I’m not saying that it will change your decision but it may make it harder or you may tend to feel judged or shamed, or whatever because of it. Unless someone asks you for help in making a decision that is when you shouldn’t get involved. Staying in your own lane is the right choice, not my monkeys, not my circus.
So what happens when you start to second guess your choice? (Me: raises hand) That is the review step happening. Recently I had decided to pull the plug on a space. I asked so many questions, researched things, asked the tenant next store about things and I finally pulled the trigger and signed the lease. Pure excitement came over me, but then as I realized how much work I had to do to get the space up to my “vision.” I started to get quotes and pricing for the things I wanted done and one was so much I was like Oh dear god what am I doing? It sent me into full out panic mode. Then an alternate came back with a new option and a way better deal and alas I had already signed. That’s when I spent the past few days trying to come to terms with everything. Having a subtle nervous breakdown along the way and finally gaining some clarity.
I’ll tell you that if you are a commitophobe like me then making a decision can be pretty nerve wracking. It can leave you up at night, not sleeping and feeling overwhelmed. But once you gain a sense of clarity it will truly leave you feeling good about the decision. I questioned if I had made the right choice for the past week, especially with the alternative coming back up. But tonight I realized that I was only freaking out because change is scary. I chose the spot carefully and methodically, along with my gut. The minor freaks are going to happen. It’s normal, at least for me. So I hope you make good girl/good boy decisions and remember everything will always be okay.
Today was a 8.