Introduction

Making decisions can be very difficult on there own, but when the situation is more complex you really do have to consider all the variables before taking the plunge and deciding what to do. Usually when making a decision over something with no real risk involved you can easily decide, but when decisions are hard it can be much worse. My aim in this article is to help you feel more confident when making hard decisions, we have all been there and it eats us up inside ever after we have made our decision final. Making decisions can be easy if you approach it in the right way. Read on to find out more.

Of course, the one thing you must take into consideration when reading this is that people have different perceptions of what is classed as a hard decision; a confident man may find it easy to decide to leave the house to pick up supplies from town, however on the other hand someone who has social problems and feels socially insecure may find it a lot more challenging. We all are different when it comes to making decisions; though our perceptions are similar there is still a subtle difference between each and every one of us.

The Technique

The technique as to how to deal with making hard decisions is relatively easy to grasp and understand, it is applying the technique which can be the tricky part, so once you have read this section please do move onto the scenario section as it will offer you an insight into how to apply the technique to a real life situation.

Step 1

Calm and Collective – It is important that when you find that you have to make a hard decision you take a deep breath and know that making a decision with confidence is within your grasp.

Step 2

Breakdown – In this step you need to break your ideas a part. Stop muddling the two together and worrying about what will be the best option, remove the worry by separating the options you have and laying them down flat so that you can observe each one with a clear mind.

Step 3

Strategy – This step is the most essential, in this step you have to note down all the negative outcomes that could occur as a result of selecting a particular option. Then you need to see if you can come up with a solution for each of these negative outcomes. If you can find a solution to anything bad that may happen as a result of choosing a certain option then believe me you will have much more confidence when making your mind up.

Step 4

Act – In this step you need to choose your decision and carry it out, if you are happy with the planning and preparation you made with the previous step then I am sure that you will feel more confident. It is important that you weigh each choice in the palm of your hand and consider which option is going to be the best to take considering the variables you have mapped out.

Step 5

Done – You are now complete, you have made the decision and hopefully you will have no regrets, if you plan things and know that you have control over whatever happens then you will find that making the decision is so much easier than you originally thought.

The Scenario

Okay, now I have given you some examples on how to make decision making easier, let’s apply them to a realistic scenario.

Mary came back from the store worrying about her financial issues that she had been having for the past few months after her husband left her. Her son was at college and she had a part time job at the local convenience store. Unfortunately the income she made was simply not enough to cover the costs of the mortgage on the house she was living in. She got home and found two letters on the floor. She picked the first one up and opened it, it was a letter from her son’s college, it was the previous year’s college fees, her son Michael was in his final year in college and wanted to be a doctor. The college fees were surprisingly high, but she knew that if she worked a few more weeks she could pay for the fees. This would prevent Michael being kicked out of college in his final year.

Mary then picked up the second letter and opened it, this letter was from the bank, it was 5 month overdue payment on the mortgage, the letter stated that if the amount was not paid within a month that further action would be taken which could result in the loss of her home. Mary looked at the amount she needed to pay, it was smaller than Michael’s college fees, but just like the college fees there was a penalty if not paid within the time given.

This left Mary with a very difficult and hard decision to make, she had to either pay her next mortgage instalment or she could pay for Michael’s college fees. She had to choose between one of the two, she could not pick both because she did not have the money to afford both. On her current wages she could only afford to pay off one of the two payments.

The Solution

Well, the first step Mary had to take was to stay calm about the hard decision. Always remember that stress only worsen the situation and makes decision making much harder.

The next step Mary had to take was to analyse her available choices, the best thing to do was to get two sheets of paper and write down one choice on one piece and the other on the other piece of paper.

Then she had to write down the future risks next to each choice, this is an important step and you must put in every risk that could occur if you were to choose the particular option. The reason this is essential is because it is the foundation which makes sure that the building blocks stay together when making a final decision.

The next step that Mary had to take was to look at the future risks and write down a suitable solution for each risk, the solution had to be realistic and

Once doing this Mary was almost complete, she had to now judge each option by its risks and solutions and she had to pick the best solution that would allow things to work out in the future.

Afterthought

Now, this may sound all to easy, but the truth is, no decision is easy to make, but by applying the technique I provided I can guarantee that it will make your decision making so much easier, it will remove stress and make you more focused when it comes to making a hard decision. The whole point of this technique is to make the decision easier to make as well as make things less stressful for you, after all, if you have a strategy as to how you will deal with the risks and effects caused by making the decision then you will find making the decision a lot easier. Many people think that making a decision is hard and when they cannot decide they instantly start thinking of what could happen if they chose either one of the available options. This gets people thinking about all the things that could go wrong and it adds a lot of pressure and people often go for the option which in their mind brings less stress, but this is absolutely wrong.

By making a decision which in your mind brings less stress you may be just bringing more stress into your mind. For example, if you go for the option with the least risks it does not mean that it is the best option, just because you have less risks doesn’t mean that they are not dangerous risks to take. You have to see what the risks are and what solutions are available to fix any problems you may have.

Always remember, when making decisions you have to expand each available option and analyse them to see which would work out to be the best choice. When you plan things out and know what you can do if something goes wrong, you feel more in control and that is what will give you more confidence when making the final decision.

Conclusion

Decision making is not hard, you have to break things down to their simplest form, and then build everything back up in your own way, because if you can see how everything is done and know what to do if anything were to go wrong then you will feel more confident when deciding which path to take. Add up the variables and weigh them in the palm of your hand, if one choice carries a few high risks with no solutions, but another choice carries lots of small risks which can be solved if a solution is applied then it is obvious that picking the second choice is the best option. Breaking things down is essential, when having a full blown situation thrown at us it can shock us and stress us out. Take time to think about what your going to do, making a plan of action is the best thing you can do, you’ll be much happier in the long run knowing that you did everything you could have done to make the best decision in your judgement. Choose wisely.

There will be times in your life when you feel very low as if something has sucked out all the energy out of your body and you don’t feel like doing anything. You may feel as if you are incapable of doing anything and you don’t have the urge to do anything. You may loose the interest in doing the normal day to day activities and often feel very lazy.

This is a very common state for many individuals and everybody experiences such periods of short bored, lifeless times in their lives. It can really get your down and your performance in life. It is very important for you to keep yourself motivated in life at all times. Motivation is something that can help you get over with such periods of time easily in no time.

It is a well known fact that change is good. If you feel that your life has become very monotonous and boring, it could be a reason why you may feel less energetic and lack the motivation or drive to do anything. In such situations it is good to take a break from the normal routine of the life and to go out and do something out of the way. Take a leave, go out with your family and have a nice time.

It is also very important to have a balanced diet. Your diet could be a reason why you have been feeling lifeless lately and lack energy. If you maintain a healthy diet full of nutrition, fruits regularly, it will certainly show the difference in your energy levels. Healthy eating is one of the best ways of a healthy mind and hence a energized body. It is important to have a balanced diet and to have your food at the right time after intervals that are neither too long nor too short. These days it is a trend for people to eat fast food items, this can be a bad thing for your health, as I have said it is very important to have a completely balanced diet.

Apart from diet it is also very important to maintain a very healthy day to day activity. It is important that you exercise daily for sometime, you may go out for morning and evening walks, and you may go regularly to the gym. Although it may sound a little weird to you to go to gym or for walks when you don’t feel energetic enough, but it is a very important for a healthy body and a healthy mind. With a healthy body and mind you will stay energized at all times and will not experience such things.

Stress is one of the most common factors for causing such effects. It is important that you deal with your stress levels responsibly. You should not exert yourself too much at work and always at all times ensure that you do not put too much pressure on yourself. The lower your stress levels, the better will be your health condition and the better you will feel.

If you regularly practice such things in life, eating a balanced healthy diet, exercise regularly daily, and stay away from stress you will never find a time in your life when you will feel low in energy. Such balanced and healthy practices will also help you increase your life expectancy.

Do not wait. Take action.