Making a decision is never easy.
When you have to make an important decision, you are also sure to lose some sleep and be stressed.
Buying a house, getting married, getting divorced, moving for work, quitting your job, or even deciding what movie to watch:all of these decisions can easily wear you down.
Fortunately, there are simple and effective techniques to help you analyze all the possibilities.
If you're really struggling to make an important decision, here are 4 tips to help you with your decision making:
Big decisions can wreak havoc on your emotional health.
As a result, your mind is confused and it becomes very difficult to make a good decision.
A very good technique to help you is to act as if you were giving advice to a friend.
The idea is simple:all the emotions you are experiencing are blocking your decisions and your ability to assess the situation objectively.
Of course, it's difficult to completely free yourself from your emotions, but it helps to know that they influence your choices.
This technique only works in certain circumstances.
For example, if you imagine giving advice to a friend to choose a moving company, it will not help you much.
On the other hand, if you imagine giving advice to a friend about the city where he should move, it should help you well.
It is precisely this method that helped me a lot in choosing a city to move to.
I invented an imaginary friend in the same situation as mine.
Then, I wondered how I would approach this subject with him.
I then thought about the types of questions I would ask him, the different risks I could talk to him about and finally the different information to look for for each of the cities.
It's true that it involves some intellectual gymnastics — but it's definitely worth a try.
You can also try calling a friend to ask their opinion.
But the advantage of this method is that it is fast and you do not need to make a long phone call.
You might think that the more information you have, the easier it is to make the right decision.
In reality, too much information kills information.
Indeed, very quickly our brain is overwhelmed and it becomes even more difficult to analyze them.
When you have too much information to process, you start attaching too much importance to it when in reality, it is not that important.
Why ? Because the human brain reacts badly to uncertainty.
Uncertainty implies inconstancy, chance and above all:danger.
When we are missing information, our brain gives us a warning signal:“Be careful. It may be important! .
Therefore, when we think we are missing information, we tend to overestimate its importance.
When you spend time and energy looking for information, your brain assumes it's essential.
This information can take different forms. For example, you may have done so much research on a subject that you are no longer in the "informed decision" but in the overflow of information.
Similarly, perhaps you have asked the opinion of several of your friends who all gave you a different opinion!
In any case, when you accumulate too much information, you complicate the decision-making process instead of simplifying it.
Going back to my move, I had also reached this overflow of information. I had too much data and opinions to analyze to make the right decision.
What helped me was eliminating some of them.
Instead of telling several of my friends about my move, I chose 3 that I could trust.
I also realized something important:whether it's a big or a trivial decision, a decision is never irrevocable!
Indeed, we tend to attach far too much importance to the weight of our decisions.
Yes, moving to the other end of France is important. But it is not an irreversible decision!
If I don't like the place I choose, I can always move again.
It's the same principle for small decisions.
Besides, I never take more than 2 minutes to make a decision of little importance.
Detach yourself from the seriousness you give to a decision and move on.
Most decisions don't commit you as much as you think.
By accepting this reality, you will be able to limit the information necessary for decision-making to a minimum.
I've already told you about the advantage of thinking outside of yourself and pretending to be giving advice to an imaginary friend.
But you can go even further:challenge your own deepest ideas.
This may sound a bit extreme, but it's very effective.
Why?
Because we all tend to make the same type of decision throughout our lives.
To really move forward, you have to know how to get out of your comfort zone and do the exact opposite of what you would normally do.
This is often the best way to solve the problem and make the right decision.
The basic idea is to fight your prejudices, get out of your comfort zone and use your creativity to try new ideas.
What I suggest is simple.
When you hesitate between several options, add a new option:an option that is the exact opposite of what you would normally do.
Now imagine what your life would be like with this new option, as if you had already made this decision.
For my move, for example, I added regions that didn't particularly appeal to me.
When I weighed the pros and cons, I realized that these options provided benefits that I hadn't even thought of.
This forced me to get out of my preconceived ideas about important factors such as the choice of a city.
Because in fact, I didn't really know what I was looking for and the details that would really make the difference.
You would think that by adding a new folk option, you would make decision-making even more confusing, but in some cases, such as a move or a career change, it is very important to get out of your comfort zone to make a good decision.
Here are some tips to help you think outside the box and challenge your misconceptions:
1. Make a list of your prejudices on the subject in question.
2. Look for the reverse of this received idea. What would be the opposite of this prejudice?
3. Now imagine how you would put into practice the opposite of this prejudice.
The result is that you approach a new point of view, a point of view that you would not normally think of.
And even if it is an option that you will not choose, this process will have helped you to identify what really matters in your decision-making.
Many people like to make lists and tables to better organize their lives.
If you are one of them, then you know that an Excel table is one of the best ways to make a decision.
Using an Excel table can allow you to have a very significant global vision.
In the Excel table, you can add criteria such as:pros and cons, quality, ranking, etc.
This method has helped me make important decisions, such as where to move to.
But she also helped me with less important decisions, like choosing a good moving company.
Create your own list by adding or removing the criteria that suit you.
For my move, I had made 2 columns:one with the "for" and the other with the "against" then, each city with its dedicated line.
The idea is to create a table that really suits your needs.
The objective here is to simplify your decision-making and provide you with a clear and global vision in the blink of an eye.
Everyone has a different perception of what makes a decision important or not.
On the other hand, these 4 techniques are very effective in helping you to have confidence in the decision you have made.
For me, they helped me get a clear, holistic view of all the choices — without feeling overwhelmed by all the information I had gathered.
Whatever you do, decisions take time and energy.
With these techniques, your decision-making should be easier and should also limit your regrets.
I'm curious to know your opinions on these techniques. Share them with us in the comments. We can't wait to read you!
