How do you know if you’ve made the right decision? We all face decisions on a daily basis. From choosing what to have for dinner to which tasks to work on, sometimes there are multiple options to choose from but eventually it’s usually a decision between A or B. Decisions such as ‘Should I say it or should I stay quiet?’ ‘Should I do it or not?’ are probably familiar questions. It’s not a problem if it’s a small thing, but sometimes it can be life-changing and probably require a lot of deliberation.
What if I told you making decisions doesn’t have to be such a big deal, even if it’s the ‘wrong’ decision? If you look at life in its entirety, the wrong decisions could actually be viewed as good learning experiences for us to go forward and make better decisions next time. We don’t really know if a decision is actually right or wrong. But there is something else when it comes to making decisions, it’s more immediate than looking at life in its entirety. It’s being conscious when we make any decision.
Making Conscious Decisions
Being conscious means being aware of why we make certain decisions and what brought us to this decision in the first place. It’s easy to rate a decision in hindsight, but I am sure we all have our reasons when we make a decision. All the reasons are valid reasons. I am sure no one simply make a decision based on no reason at all, timing is also an important factor. Why is being conscious important when we make decisions? Because it affects the quality of the decision and could change the direction of where it may go.
Being Comfortable With Your Decision
Suppose you care about your health a lot and pay a lot of attention to your diet and lifestyle. One day, a good friend who you haven’t met for a long time wants to catch up. You know immediately that it’d mean a few drinks and probably a late night. It’s not the healthiest way to spend your weeknight but you know you will have a good time. Should you go or should you reschedule? You probably guessed it, there is no right or wrong decision. The important thing is to be conscious about your decision and comfortable with it. You’d have to be comfortable with your own decision and own it. If it turned out to be regrettable then at least next time you’d be in a better position to make a better choice.
Conscious decision making is about being comfortable with it no matter what. We all have our reasons and they are all valid reasons. There is no need to feel too bad about them if they turn out to be bad decisions. The important thing is that we take ownership of our decisions and accept it. When we can do that naturally, we are already making good decisions.