How to make better decisions

Every moment of our existence requires us to make choices. A choice is a decision. And every decision will have an outcome. If you choose to eat junk food the outcome is bad health. If you are an alien and looking at earth from space you will see this as a very simple equation. But here on earth when we try to use this equation we make a mess out of it. Sometimes for our decisions, we don’t know what will be the outcome and most of the time we ignore it.

I have myself struggled for long with making decisions that would benefit me over time. Most of the time decisions go wrong or do not have the desired outcome because we are not rational while taking the call. We are blinded with emotions and are far away from reality. So when reality strikes in the form of the outcomes we suffer.

In due course of making wrong decisions, I have developed a framework that helps me in evaluating the situation more rationally and helping in reaching a relatively smart decision. Over time with practice, the outcomes have been phenomenal for me.

1. Control your emotions- You can never make the right decision when you are happy, sad or angry. Calm head with a sense of reality is what is required. The trick is to achieve this. And it is not easy.
Next time making a decision, get out of your emotions.

2. Be transparent- Be very transparent while making your decisions. If you’re trying to hide something from the other party or yourself it will not work in the long term and will hit back.

3. Get all the information you can but avoid information paralysis. It is okay to make a decision based on 70% information.
Also, understand you can take back a lot of decisions with little cost. You can join that job but if you don’t like you can quit and look for something else. There are only a few decisions that have a very high cost and undoing them will take not only money but a toll on your overall life. For example- choosing a wrong partner. Divorce is messy and complicated. But still, they are reversible.

4. Write your pros and cons. Writing helps you clear your head. Use pen and paper instead of any digital method.

5. You may want to take advice form believable people, who know more about the things you are trying to decide on. It is okay and good to take help. But keep it time boxed.
Again remember whom you are asking the question. Because you will receive an answer. Be very protective of whom you ask questions to. Questions are life-changing, and so are answers.

6. Finally, take the decision and stick to it. Anything worth doing takes time, be patient and keep going.

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