5 Things To Do To Make Better Decisions
It doesn’t matter if you think you’ve made some good decisions lately, because in your life you have surely made bad decisions.
The judgments we make every day are influenced by the mistakes of our past decisions, prejudices, emotions and mental shortcuts, which make us more vulnerable to mistakes.
That’s why when it comes time to make an important decision, many people want to count on all the help they can get, in order to be able to choose correctly.
However, the important thing is to be prepared, to have your own tools to decide and above all, to practice each time you have to make a decision, however small it may be.
The following strategies will help you be prepared and know what to do to make a good decision. Put them into practice and you will see the results …
Take the time you need
In popular wisdom, there is an expression which says that it is important to meditate on decisions: “the night brings counsel”.
Indeed, sleeping before making a decision helps us to distance ourselves and allows us to rest so as not to make the decision “hot” and under the pressure of the stress accumulated throughout the day.
But we don’t always have time to make a decision. So, just give yourself a little rest for better results.
Recent investigations have found that even a slight rest, a few fractions of a second, before making a decision, can lead to better accuracy.
The next time you’re faced with a choice, take a brief break and focus on the options available before you decide. Don’t get carried away by impulse.
Make a list of pros and cons
Making a list of pros and cons when faced with a decision is an ancient technique for making a simple decision, which helps you visualize what can happen in different situations, whether you continue as usual or choose. another way.
This list can be done on paper, using a mind map technique, one tool in particular, in your head.
Thinking about it, in addition to helping you take the time, will help you realize the importance of thinking.
But we don’t always have time for this. Faced with decisions that must be taken quickly, this is not possible.
You can then train your mind in this task, even in simple situations, to get used to it and be more agile in thinking.
Learn to control stress
Researchers have found that stress can affect the way you make decisions and that often this influence is negative.
A study published in Current Directions in Psychological Science found that in stressful situations, people are more likely to pay attention to positive information, and lose interest in negative information.
The study authors suggest that when making a decision under stress, we are more likely to focus on the benefits, and less on the potential disadvantages.
So, to make better decisions, it is necessary to make sure that one keeps one’s stress levels under control and to learn how to manage one’s stress.
Work on your emotional intelligence
A study by researchers at the University of Toronto found that people with greater emotional intelligence make the best decisions.
People with low levels of emotional understanding tend to let their anxiety get the better of decisions, while others do not.
Additionally, researchers have found that people who are aware that their anxiety is unrelated to the topic in question may be able to make better decisions.
This indicates that people can put off decisions until they are able to focus only on the topic in question, in order to achieve better results.
Look at the problem from another point of view
When it comes to something very personal and stressful, or a decision that will change important things, emotions tend to cloud judgment.
A study published in the journal Psychological Science found that looking at the problem from an outside perspective can help make better decisions.
In the study, the researchers found that, even when the issues are intimate and personal, thinking about them as other people’s issues and putting distance between yourself and the situation can help make smarter decisions.
