Four simple strategies to help you make good decisions

Some people are inherently more decisive than others. For those who struggle with making decisions there are simple strategies to help

Did it take you a while to decide whether to click on this article or not? You knew you only had time to read one more piece and you weren’t sure whether you would pick this one or a different one about fashion/life/beauty/interiors?

It actually took you so long to decide, now you barely even had time to read this article so you need me to get on with it. If this is the case for you, then you have a bad case of indecisiveness. But never fear, it is curable. You clicked on the right place – welcome.

Indecisiveness is something that affects many of us from time to time, whether it comes to changing jobs or deciding which takeaway to order for dinner. At its worst, indecisiveness can be paralysing. You spend so much time weighing up your options, you end up being too late to pick either one. This can be frustrating at best and limiting in all sorts of ways at worst. 

So, here are some ways to avoid that:

Stop seeking perfection

You are never going to find the perfect job or perfect house, you can only find the best available one. You need to remember that the best is good enough.

Sure, the dream role you have been offered might have a longer commute than you anticipated or the house you want to buy has an ugly front door, but when all is said and done, will those things matter. If you find a job nearer to home but you hate it, the commute will seem 10 times longer than it is anyway.

And if you buy your house and you are cosy on your couch in front of Netflix – will it matter what the front door looks like? Not an iota. 

Break it down

Big decisions can be intimidating. Instead of trying to solve all of your problems at once with one decision, it can help to break them down into smaller decisions.

“When looking to buy a house, first decide what your budget is, then the area you would like to live in, then the non-negotiables.”

This allows you to see and stop mistakes faster. For example, when looking to buy a house, first decide what your budget is, then the area you would like to live in, then the non-negotiables you need in the property you want to buy.

By doing it in this way, you know exactly what you are doing and why, and you will not doubt yourself when it comes to signing on the dotted line.

Let it go

It’s time to recognise that you will never have all the information you think you might need to make this decision. No matter what the question, whether it is a job offer or a marriage proposal, at a certain point, you will have to make a decision.

“You do not have a crystal ball, and you cannot expect to know what will happen with either option.”

By all means, gather the relevant information, but do not bury yourself in it.

You do not have a crystal ball, and you cannot expect to know what will happen with either option – that is the beauty of this unpredictable life we live. You will never know what would happen if you take the opposite road, and you just have to take a risk.

Trust your gut

It might seem like a cliche, but the person that is most looking out for you is you, so you should trust yourself. If you just do not feel right about an opportunity because you have a bad feeling about it, instead of thinking you are being foolish, you should ask yourself what your body is trying to tell you.

Sometimes our guts realise things a lot faster than our brains do. 

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