Written by: Prue Sulicich, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
How strong are your decision-making skills?
Most people fall into two categories when making decisions.
Either you instinctively know the right decision and can make it with ease and efficiency, or you procrastinate, go back and forth, overthink, and chances are, never make it at all.
Do either of these sound familiar? If you resonate with the latter, never fear. I’ve got you covered!
Perhaps what gets in the way of making a clear decision is the fear of making the wrong one and looking like a ‘failure’.
Maybe you’re a self-professed perfectionist and don’t want to get it wrong, or you’re worried about being judged by others.
Whatever it is for you, it’s time to leave indecision at the door and step into your decision-making power.
Here are three tips for making decisions with confidence and clarity.
No. 1 — Trust your Instincts and Intuition
We all have access to our inbuilt compass, otherwise known as our intuition. Using this compass to its fullest capacity will become a vital part of your decision-making process.
Usually, when you are presented with a situation, you will instantly receive feedback from your body and mind about which direction to take. You will have a ‘feeling’ that just feels right or wrong.
If you can learn to fully trust in this innate knowing that resides in you, it is unlikely to lead you astray.
Tap into the instinctive emotion provoked when first presented with a decision. Take notice and be aware of using it to your benefit. Don’t ever brush the emotion under the rug!
No. 2 — Weigh Up the Pros and Cons
Although tuning into our intuition is vital, it is equally important to use the practicality of logic to assist you. Rationally lay out all the pros and cons for varying outcomes or scenarios that you can think of. Writing them on a piece of paper helps you to see them clearly.
Look at how many pros and cons there are. You may find that there are many more of one than the other, and this will likely give you clear guidance as to which direction you should head.
If, however, you find that the pros and cons are quite even, you have two options. Option one is to go back to using your intuition and use that as the guide. Option two is to visualize both scenarios playing out. Often we will dramatize the potential negative implications of a situation, and conversely, romanticize the potentiality of a situation.
Use what you discover through your logical mind to guide you.
No. 3 — Set a Deadline to Decide
This is where you need to find the balance between logic and intuition. Because giving yourself too much time to make the decision, can become a little murky and confusing.
Remember that instant answer your intuition provided? If you deliberate too long about your decision, this is when your logical mind will take over. And as I mentioned, it is vital to consider the logical outcomes of your decision. But if you leave it for too long, you will replay scenarios over and over in your mind.
Your logical mind is much louder than your intuition. Your intuition speaks softly to you.
Allocate yourself just enough time to receive your instant response from your intuition, and enough time to weigh up the pros and cons, and then take the initiative to make your decision then and there.
I know what you’re thinking, ‘but how can I be sure that I won’t make the wrong decision?’.
Well, I am going to offer you a new way to think about this.
What if there is no such thing as a bad decision? Just a decision. This thought takes the pressure off and allows you to make a decision without fear of doing something wrong.
Nothing is ever a sure thing in life. As much as we can make aligned decisions and hope for the best outcome, the universe may intervene with a different outcome. And that is ok. It is all a part of the great mystery of life. And wouldn’t life be a little bit boring if you knew the outcome for everything?
If you can use these three tips - trusting your intuition, using your logical mind to weigh up the pros and cons and make your decisions quickly, you will be a whole lot happier and calmer.
Because if you get too caught up in what could happen, what you think could or should happen, what someone might think about you, or go back and forth in your own mind, you will ultimately bring yourself unnecessary suffering. And it will likely hold you back, keeping you safe in your comfort zone. And this is usually not a place that will nurture your growth but rather foster stagnancy.
It will take a little practice, but if you can implement these steps, you will make your decisions with more ease and clarity and stand tall and proud when you do, no matter what the outcome.
Now go out and decide what you want your life to look like!
If you need help, I am always here.
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Prue Sulicich, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Prue Sulicich is passionate about offering women the opportunity to know themselves so well; nothing can stand in their way to reach their dreams. Prue identified as a dreamer but was held back by the belief that women are mothers and wives first. Prue was nervous, shy, they and someone who never liked to be in the spotlight. Over the last decade, Prue started successful businesses but never took them beyond being a "hobby" because of this belief, even though deep down, aspired for more. After coming out the other side of a major family crisis, Prue was able to hold strong and took her own self-development to the next level. Completing a Life Coaching certification honed her newly found passion for a skill. Prue then founded her business, Head Coach, and is now offering help to women similar to herself, achieve their dreams, be it weight loss, self-love, or anything in between. Prue has big goals in this space and is determined to use her own transformation as an example to other women struggling with self-belief or lost identity by taking small steps to make big changes.
