9 Rules for Making Good Decisions
Making good decisions is not always easy. We struggle at times to make smart decisions, especially when faced with difficult choices. How do we know which choice to make when none jumps out at us as the right one? What if we make the wrong decision? These and other questions trouble us as we struggle to choose the right one of several alternatives. Following these fundamental rules for making decisions will help.
- Strive for a good decision not a perfect decision:
There’s a tendency to want to make a perfect decision, believing only one of many choices is perfect. But we must recognize that we’re always dealing with a future event when making a decision, and the future is unknown. We can only judge how good a decision is after the fact–after the decision is made and all the circumstances play out.
We should recognize that every decision is an estimate which will be made with incomplete information. The most we can expect of ourselves is to make the best decision we can make given what we know at the time.
- Clearly define the problem:
Often times the difficulty of decision making is that we’re trying to solve multiple problems but we don’t recognize them as separate, though integrated problems. If we can pinpoint the main problem and identify associated problems our priorities will be set, simplifying our decision process.
- Gather the right information:
First gather the information that pertains to the primary problem. List other information under the secondary problems. This helps us stay focused and prioritized. We must recognize that we will be unable to gather all the information we’d like to have. That’s the nature of decisions; they’re about future events and the future is never completely known. Use the 70% rule, shooting for 70% confidence that we’re making a sound decision.
- Clarify constraints:
Identify the boundaries and constraints that apply to this decision. What are the limits to the authority and abilities that we have? Are there time and money limitations?
- Identify a target timeframe:
Some decision due-dates are clear cut, but many are not. It’s important to know the difference. When a decision is open-ended, with no target or required due date, we tend to put off making a decision until we have more information. Subconsciously we’re probably hoping to gather all the information we need to make a perfect decision.
It’s helpful to set a target time if for no other reason than to complete the task. An open decision can be burdensome, always hanging over our heads awaiting revelation of the right decision.
- Visualize the desired end result:
Imagine the decision is made and you feel proud and satisfied. It’s not important to visualize the effect of the choice we’ve made, just that we made it. Identify how you feel. Do you feel proud and satisfied? Are there other feelings too? What are they?
Associate a reason or reasons for each feeling. If you’re afraid, explore what it is that you’re afraid of. If you’re proud, explore that too.
Exploring feelings and their causes leads us to recognize the factor that our values play in the decision; this is the next rule to consider.
- Honor values:
When our decisions reflect what we value and are aligned with the values most important to us, we have the best chance of feeling positive and at peace with even the most difficult of decisions.
- Use intuition:
As humans we are blessed with powerful analytical abilities, our left-brain functions. We also have an equally powerful intuitive and transcendental capability, our right-brain functions. We should use both to solve difficult problems.
Take a walk or meditate and open yourself to the insight of inner wisdom. Play each of the plausible alternative decisions in your mind and explore your feelings. Which feel right?
- Make a decision:
If we’ve followed all the previous steps it’s probably time to make a decision. Remember that not making a decision is a decision to choose the status quo. Is that the best decision at this time?
Make the decision and live with it. If we’ve followed all the steps above then we can feel comfortable that we’ve done our best. When the future unfolds we may find that there were some opportunities for learning in this experience. If so, learn from them to benefit future decisions.