Making decisions is a part of life; either at work place or home, during socializing and adverse situations, all individuals, either consciously or subconsciously, are asked to take decisions. These could be personal or professional, important, radical or with minimum effect to our daily life.
Nonetheless, in every situation, our decisions may have lasting consequences, affecting ourselves and others in the short and long term. In this context, an effective decision making process can help us reflect and weigh the alternatives and finally make the option that is the most appropriate for each situation.
One of the most challenging things during the ‘decision making process’ is the battle that each individual has to give with the blockers; the obstacles, i.e. negative thoughts or situations, that may inherit anyone from taking decisive action. What others may say or think for our decision is a typical example of a blocker that may affect the outcome.
Making a decision is a structured thinking process; understanding the common challenges during this process may help each individual to find his/her way to take action and move forward. Taking decisive action is an important factor in improving resilience; it allows us to gain confidence and thus to take control of a situation instead of detaching completely from problems.
First priority: Remove blockers!
Examples of blockers that may inherit decisive action
- What are the consequences if I take the wrong decision?
- What my friends/ family/ relatives/ colleagues will think about my decision?
- I have a feeling..it just doesn’t feel right!
- I don’t have enough knowledge/time/ information to make a decision
- I don’t know whether I should make any decision at all
Basic Tips to overcome blockers
- List all the things that may go wrong
- Discuss your options with others (people of trust, who will be affected, experts, mentors)
- Don’t ignore your inner feelings that alerting you there could be a problem
- Set a deadline for your decision; search for more info
- Be decisive; it is OK if you don’t take any action only if you have deliberately decided not to!