Decision making is like any other sports out there, decision making is like learning to draw and decision making is also like weightlifting.
The more you draw, the more you practice and how regularly you lift weights will ultimately determine how heavy you can lift. How beautifully you can draw and how good you are at hitting that home run/six in baseball or cricket.
It’s nothing magical or extraordinary. If you want to learn swimming you have to get into the water. The more you will let your fear take over you and the more you avoid getting into the water, the longer it will take for you to learn swimming.
It will take longer for you to get better, it will take longer for you to lose your fear of water and the longer it will take you to understand what errors you are making your form will continue to suffer immenesly.
The longer you delay it, the more your fear grows and you might just completely give away the thought of learning to swim. It’s just plain simple practice. Let me share with you 3 quick ways by which you can make yourself take decisions quicker and better.
Practice. Practice. Practice.
You have an impending big life decision to make, you are definitely feeling the anxiety at this point. In your head you understand how important it is for you to make a decision and act. Though on the other hand you’re trying to find a way to completely avoid doing it or some lame excuse for delaying it to a later date. There is only one reason behind this situation.
You are not actively practicing decision making. To practice decision making you have to continually consciously make small or big decisions about your life every day. It could be as simple as deciding what you are going to eat for breakfast today? If even in this small aspect of your life somebody else is making decisions for you then you will never be sure what exactly do you want in life? If you don’t know it. Then you cannot make a decision.
I am not asking you to force your will on your family members to eat your way all the time. I am thinking in a more holistic manner. Sort of say a meal plan. Nothing too elaborate but whoever’s preparing breakfast for you or if you are doing it yourself you can simply decide, from now on I will eat oats, fruits, dry fruits, eggs and something similarly healthy every day.
A small decision but life changing effects. You just practiced decision making. You made it by the action of your will. It strengthens a lot of inner chords you know? Its empowering to be able to do what you decide. It feels amazing.
So it’s all about practice. Don’t go about your day unconsciously or on an automated mode programmed by your behavior for so long. Make small, medium and big decisions about your life regularly. You can only lift those heavy weights if you have dedicatedly with right form have exercised with the small ones before.
To make a big life decision. You first must be habitual of making small decisions.
Here are some key things you can do to practice decision making:
- Figure out small impending decisions from your life and take responsibility, act it out.
Small situations like (I will completely organize my book shelf today, see if I find something interesting to read) - Take authority of some situation and make decisions about it. Could be as simple as planning a night out with family or friends.
- Make random decisions anywhere you can. Like today I won’t eat rice for dinner. Or this piece of furniture should not be here, let’s move it to someplace else.
Get creative and practice the habit of decision making. In no time you will be making life changing decisions with authority and confidence. Cannot say ease, because every new thing takes courage to start but at least you will have confidence in your ability to make decisions.
When in doubt. Decide.
We all have certain situations in life where we are in a dilema whether to be or not to be. It’s a very common scenario nothing too daunting. No need to sweat and run from it.
In such a scenario you should adopt and dare to establish a single point of view. Instead of panicking or feeling stuck, you should do the closest thing in time period, most appropriate in long term and the relevant action possible right now.
Deciding to wait is also a decision. All situations demand different sorts of activity. Some static and some active. It’s very essential to make that difference. Now if you have been inactive for a long time, plus avoiding making any strong decisions from a long time, then you should definitely not wait and act immediately upon the possibility available right now.
Trust me, whatever you do eventually pays of in the long run. That is how the world works. Nothing goes to waste, if your intention solely is bettering yourself and making progress, there are no wrong decisions. Only lessons and experiences. Take them, fetch them and carry forward, do better.
Do not let doubt cloud your judgment. All doubts can be cleared with action. It’s that simple. Embrace the nearest available possibility and move on with your life. With experience you will without a doubt make better and quicker decisions.
In simple words, your fear of water will go away, you will learn to enjoy the waves, the depth and will view it as a challenge rather than a failure and swim swiftly. You will understand, it’s an ocean, waves happen. Big deal?
Some questions you can ask yourself when in doubt:
- Okay if not this, then what is possible for me to start doing right now?
- What will be the ultimate repercussion if I make this decision, will I die? Nope? Good. Let’s do it.
- Is there any person on earth right now or before who has never failed in his life?
Remember delay will only increase your doubts not clear it. Later becomes never and never becomes a regret. Anything in life is thousand times better than regret. Got that? Good.
3. Happen to things don’t let things happen to you
In every situation in life you can make tons of decisions. Not reacting to negative comments is a decision. Happiness is a decision. Not being judgmental is a decision. Walking rather than driving to a nearby location is a decision. Making an attempt to be a better listener is a decision. Speaking your mind exactly as it is, is a decision. Smiling instead of frowning is a decision. Choosing plain simple water over soda is a decision.
Quick tip: Always drink water after your meal, do not consume any cool liquid while having food. Preferably 30 minutes after your meal is finished is a good time to consume any liquid. Do that if possible or at least make sure you only drink something after you finish your meal. Great digestive benefits. Health benefits. Don’t ask why just do it. Maybe I will explain later.
Doing that is a huge decision as well. It will prepare you for far bigger ones in future, as it demands discipline.
Now as I have laid down certain perspective about various decisions we can make in our lives. Start doing it. The more you will do it, the more actively you are participating in the world. You feel in charge of your total wellbeing. You will feel unstoppable and confident in your abilities.
You are not reacting to things but you are making conscious moves by which the surrounding is reacting to you. Try smiling at a stranger, we all know people smile back. If you haven’t tried it, try that. It’s some immediate feedback about action and reaction.
It was your decision to make that strangers day and yours. You have just been awesome. It’s a positive life. To play an active part in the various roles in life.
Things you can make happen:
- You can decide to be in a certain mood throughout the day. Will be hard but is a good practice. Treat everything as a practice session, nothing too dramatic or serious.
- Try initiating that important meeting or phone call. Don’t worry about the result. Just focus on making things react to you rather than you reacting to them.
- Face your fears. It’s a crazy feeling, its fun, just try it once.
Conclusion
Whatever you want to achieve in life comes with practice. The more you will do something, the better you will get at it. It’s the same in every scenario. You just have to figure out what you can do even at the micro level.
I hope you enjoyed reading this and found it beneficial. If so please do let me. I am always curious to know your opinions. Comments section is where we discuss, make a decision to start a discussion right now if you wish to.
