How to make the best decisions in life?

 Decisions are inevitable.Decisions define you. Thus, decision making becomes an important skill to master. With experience and some help, the skill can be almost mastered.
  Have you always wondered how to make the best decisions? While there's no  such thing as a perfect decision, at least we can try to make an almost perfect one. 

Please read on to know what I think is the best way to make almost perfect decisions in life.

How to make the best decisions in life?

Decision making is a tricky thing as we have to decide a course of action from various options we have for a given situation. We also have very little time to make that decision, and some decisions once taken cannot be reversed, while some decisions can affect your future forever, some decisions even affect more people than you imagine Like for example, if you are a company’s owner, your decision will affect your employees, suppliers, competitors and customers.

How to make almost perfect decisions in life?

Keep a calm mind:-

Decisions taken with an angry, afraid or excited mind are often regretted later on.

Know all the facts:-

Take decisions only after knowing every true fact about the situation and all the persons involved. Misinformation, fake information, lies, gossip and misunderstandings can make your decisions wrong.

Keep aside all the prejudice and discrimination:-

Try not to think about any prejudice or discriminating thoughts you may have for a person or a group while think about the options or a decisions. You might make mistakes if you take some decision just because you are angry at someone’s behavior or past deeds.

Know who will be affected by the decisions:-

Your one wrong decision taken in hurry could ruin lives of many people affected by it. For example, decisions to close a business, layoff several employees, applying for a job/education in a different city, etc. can have long term effects on the future of many people including you.

Discuss:-

Informally discuss with your family, friends, elders, mentors or teachers if you can afford to disclose the issue. If the issue cannot be discussed and is a top secret issue, discuss with your most trusted contacts in a face to face meeting or somewhere privately.

Brainstorm & find more options/alternatives:-

Brainstorming is discussing the issues and writing down a list of all possible solutions, and alternatives mentioned by the participants. Then, assess each of the options and see what works the best for you by following other steps mentioned in this list.

Ask a professional experienced person:-

Some decisions require expert knowledge to be as error-less as possible. This is especially true when those are some very big decisions that can affect us financially, physically, or emotionally. 

Examples include:- 
     Big investments or other financial decisions need to be discussed with a Certified Financial Professional like CA, CMA, ACCA, CFA, CFP and your Personal Banker if your Bank has the privilege banking facilities. 
    Legal decisions about The Last Will, court matters, suing someone or getting sued, etc. need to be discussed with your Lawyer. 
     Health problems and decisions about surgery, and medicine intake need to be discussed with a doctor. 
     Practicing new Yoga poses, trying a new exercise, diet plan change etc should be consulted with a certified dietitian, a certified yoga expert, a certified gym trainer and your doctor too if you have any injury or other medical issues like Diabetes, Blood Pressure, etc.

Think about the future:-

We cannot see the future but we can think about the consequences of our decisions will have in the future. 
  Like, if you choose to buy a bike instead of a car, you will save some money besides you will have less traffic and parking problem but you will not get the comfort of having a roof because of a car and not be able to get 3 other people to travel with you. 
  If you choose a Medical degree instead of an Arts one, the entire career will be different. If you choose to buy a home or rent a home in a city rather than a village, your lifestyle will be different. 

 So, every action has consequences which are easily guessed if you think for a moment or ask for suggestions during your brainstorming sessions.

Think about the past decisions:-

There are some decisions in your past which have affected your present. You need to remember the important decisions which made your life better and also those decisions which caused some regret or trouble for you. By doing this, you can avoid repeating the same mistake again and also trying to see where your strength lies if you took a good decision in the past.

Think about your career:-

Everything you do during the day affects your career in some small way. So, big decisions like job change, starting your own company, changing your city or pursuing further education, and even taking an investment decision can affect your career in some way. You need to assess whether your decision will help you to reach your career goals or delay your career progression.

Think about your family:-

Family is important and sometimes your decisions can affect your family members too. 

   I have heard many stories of children having to change schools every year due to the transfer of their father or mother who is employed in a government company. Transfers by companies are not controlled by us but some people take the decision to change the city themselves for better facilities or a better job. 
   Sometimes, because of your work or business, you will be spending less time with your family. Due to a business or personal loan, you will not be able to fulfill the wishes of your loved ones due to having debt. So, try to figure out how your decisions affect not just you but your family and sometimes, your friends. 
   Also, sometimes we have to think about "What my family would think if I do this?" so we have to give the family an idea about the decision and ask for their feedback and suggestions. Telling them why you think a decision is good and how they will be affected.

Think about your values and moral:-

Sometimes we have to decide on things that challenge our values or moral. Some people may have to take up a job or do a business that they don’t think is according to their values and what they believe is right. 

   Imagine a vegan or a vegetarian person selling meat because that person can’t find other jobs in the city or it’s the family business of that person which that person has to do because of his family’s wish. That person will hate the job and life. So, unless that person finds a new job, or makes enough money to start another business, that person is stuck in a job that the person hates. 
   So, don’t do anything that goes against your moral or values. Even if you have to do something like that, try to get out of it as soon as possible.

Ask yourself:-

The most important person that many people forget to ask when taking decision is you. Yes, we ignore our own opinion, wishes and plans because we think that we don’t matter if everyone else is happy. The problem is, when we take a decision we don’t like we may be happy at the start but we may regret it later on. 

   Also, the secret fact is that even if everyone else told you to do something and things don’t go according to the plan or you fail, they will blame you because despite you taking suggestions and taking the decision after consensus, it is you who took the decision and not the other people.  
    Now, you will think that family, boss, or friends can’t blame you if you say that “I did this because you guys said it was something I should do”  and their reply would be, (which is a classic), “Yes, we said that but couldn’t you think for yourself or use your own brain?”.

So, you have to strike a fine balance between what you think is right and what others say. Think, meditate and ask yourself, “Is this really what I want? Does this feel right to do?”

Your experience and your thoughts can help you find the right answer. If the answer is still not clear then the other methods from the list can help you guide the decision making process until you find the solution that feels right.

Thank you for reading this! I wish you good luck for your decision making.

If you believe in yourself then everything is possible.

If still not sure, here's an article from Psychology Today- 

The Art of Making Decisions by 

Bob Taibbi, L.C.S.W.

If you feel regret about your past decisions and feel like you have made a mistake, please don't over think it. Here's my Blog about How to Get over the Regrets and Move Ahead in Life:- https://darshd.blogspot.com/2019/04/how-to-overcome-feeling-of-regret-and.html

[CNBC Make it Article]:-

 Billionaire Warren Buffett has a ‘simple’ test for making tough decisions

How to Make a Decision Video by 'The School of Life' YouTube channel:-

© Copyright to DarshD 2019,

Please comment or mail at darshd555@gmail.com for any feedback or suggestions. This text can be published or reused with my permission or  at least by mentioning of my Pen name (DarshD) and providing a link to this blog. So, feel free to share or include in your textbooks. Also, consult your financial adviser, family and lawyer before making any big financial changes or big financial decisions :)