SESSION SIX: MAKING DECISIONS
Planning well and setting priorities, which were discussed in the previous two sessions, depend on the ability to make good decisions.
In this session, you will explore the eight ingredients necessary for making good decisions, and work through a scenario that allows you to practice this skill.
Eight Ingredients for Good Decision Making
- Focus on the most important things. Of all the things you are judging, one factor is the most important and must be given greater weight than anything else.
- Do not decide until you are ready. Do not act on impulse or succumb to decision panic.
- Look for the positive results that can come from this decision. Make your decision as if you were afraid of missing a wonderful opportunity.
- Consider the negative outcomes. If things go wrong, as they sometimes will, what is the worst that can happen? How can you mitigate problems?
- Look ahead. Try to see how your decision will play out over time.
- Turn big decisions into a series of little decisions. When a big undertaking seems like it could be too much to tackle all at once, take small steps, get more information, reconsider, and then make the next decision.
- Do not feel you are locked into only one or two alternatives. There are always more options if you look for them. Go look for them.
- Get what you need to feel safe. For some people, that means knowing the worst that can happen. For others, it means knowing they can back out at the last minute. For still others, it means knowing that everyone they care about agrees with the decision, or fully understands the situation they are in. Identify your safety needs related to the decision at hand.