Topic of the day: Be clear in what you choose
Have you realised how the decisions you made last year impacted your current situation?
We make thousands of decisions and for some of them, we might spend more time thinking about what are the alternatives and which is the best choice. For the majority, we do not really think about it and just go with the flow. This might not bring troubles all the time, but the current situation could be much better if we think consciously that we are making these decisions and what they are really bringing to us. We do not really learn how to make decisions during our school years, and many not even after the university period. This is a serious problem because we are influenced by several factors and do not really realise it, for example, the media, our closest friends and relatives, colleagues from work and even by things we do not like.
Every choice made has at least two options, one yes and one no. A simple example: a friend invites you to join them on a weekend trip. You could say yes because you like the group, or because you want to get to know more people, but you are also tight in money and should study for an exam next Monday. You could decide for a yes and no in this situation, but any has a consequence, for example, missing the nice party they organized for Saturday night or being broken at least for the next week (plus failing the exam on Monday). Mundane situations like this exist thousands and the most important point here is that you need to be clear in what you choose. In the situation above, the consequences might not seem bad at first or it could be also terrible if this closed some important doors for you. If you have chosen your friends, you could find ways to get a better job by networking, or if you fail the exam you could have missed the chance to be accepted in a master programme.
Although many people are not conscious of that, every person is the main character of his/her own film called life. If they do not assume the protagonist’s role, they are missing the chance to have a better life, or let’s say to have better experiences and relationships.
The decision-making process can be as simple as saying a yes or no but can be very complicated, especially if others are involved. Imagine that you are deciding to change your job, which pushes you and your family to move to another city. There are so many variables involved that without a thorough assessment, you might not really find the best alternative. In order to be clear in what you choose, you should first state for yourself and others involved what is really the decision and the alternatives, including the impacts each might have in the family lifestyle. Maybe you can even find some additional alternatives by going through this process, and for sure clarify what is most important for everyone, reaching the best alternative.
The process of making choices can be complex when we don’t think about it clearly, but many things come out of the box after every interaction. I recommend reading the book “Smart Choices” written by John S. Hammond, Ralph L. Keeney, and Howard Raiffa. The authors guide us through a simple but powerful methodology for making smart decisions. A must-read for people who deal with professional decisions on everyday life, but actually for everyone as we all must decide something with a certain frequency.
Remember to align your choices with your deep values and beliefs, as this is in the core of the best choices you might take in life.
