Everyone knows that it’s important to develop good decision-making skills in order to navigate life in a positive and productive way – and to avoid the kind of negativity and inaction that can come from being chronically indecisive, or making poor decisions on a regular basis.
From time to time, the decisions you need to make will be reasonably clear and straightforward. For example, if your house has sustained water damage, then investigating Water Damage Restoration Services may certainly be a pretty good and clear-cut idea.
A lot of other times, though, decision-making can be a bit more tricky, and your decisions can be impacted by things like how well-rested you are, and your current emotional state. Here are just a few tips for better day-to-day decision-making.
Make important decisions from a “resourceful emotional state”
The highly popular motivational speaker and writer Tony Robbins argues in his influential book, “Awaken the Giant Within,” that it is important to always make decisions from a “resourceful emotional state.” The basic idea here is that you should make decisions when you are feeling optimistic, capable, positive, and empowered, as opposed to when you’re feeling timid, nervous, unconfident, and negative.
Whatever you may think of Tony Robbins, it’s hard to argue that there isn’t real value to this advice. For one thing, if you get into the habit of making decisions when in a resourceful emotional state, you will tend to be more outgoing, more proactive, and better able to engage with the world in a positive way.
On the other hand, if you are making a lot of your decisions from a negative emotional state, there’s a good chance that this will result in you crafting a life for yourself which is more withdrawn, negative, and pessimistic.
Aim to reduce your personal levels of stress in life
Whenever you’re stressed, you will be less capable of making good decisions, as you will be more reactive, and won’t be able to easily maintain a good overview of the “bigger picture,” or to assess and weigh up different variables.
The more you can effectively manage to reduce your personal levels of stress in life – such as by cutting back your caffeine consumption, eating enough, taking steps to change situations that might be stressing you out – such as your job – the better your decision-making will tend to be.
Have a clear sense of where your priorities lie
It’s easier to make better and more consistent decisions when you have a clear sense of where your priorities lie, as opposed to being distracted or having your attention seized by different things on a continual basis.
If you know that family comes first for you, for example, it will be easier to make certain decisions regarding your career, where the choice might be between something like a job that leaves you with little time to spend with your loved ones, versus a job that has a better and more flexible way of managing employee schedules.
