How to Make the Best Decisions for Your Life and Business Our lives are an accumulation of the decisions we make, both big and small. Improve your decision-making process, and you'll improve every aspect of your life and business.
By Erik Kruger •
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"When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision." — Paulo Coelho
Much of what I do in coaching is to help my clients gain clarity around the decisions they make. Every day we must make hundreds, if not thousands, of decisions.
Some of them are big and will have a dramatic impact on our personal and business lives. Others are small and made automatically without us paying much attention to them. No matter how big or small a decision is, it pays to have a clear intention for why you are choosing a specific course of action.
After all, our lives are an accumulation of the decisions we make. The small and the big ones.
1. THE VALUES LINK
Society has conditioned us to think of success mostly in terms of achievement. This means that when faced with a decision about your future, you should take the option that would potentially deliver more money, more certainty, and more stuff.
I have often spoken to clients who think they want something, but it turns out to be a temporary infatuation. Once the emotional high wears off they realise that the shiny object was merely a distraction.
So, one of the best things you can do is to first create some distance from the decision you have to make. However, this is not always possible. In such cases I talk to my clients about the Values Link.
Essentially, we are trying to see which decision will link best to your values (current and future). I recently met with a great business coach to discuss potential collaborations. Our coaching differs in many ways. One of the key ways is that he has an awesome office where clients come to meet him and I do all my coaching digitally.
Leaving the meeting I had some office envy. I immediately started looking at To Let signs and googling office spaces to rent. I could see in my mind how my office space would look. Leather chairs. A wall filled with books. A tray with crystal glasses and premium whisky.
When the emotional high died down I realised it was not what I wanted at all. Conducting all my work digitally is exactly what I want because I value my freedom and mobility.
This is not to say he doesn't value these things, it just means that we prioritise and action our values differently. Be aware though that making decisions in this manner requires you to know what your values are.
2. VISUALISE THE FUTURE
Visualisation is a great tool with many applications. Something I often ask my clients to do is to spend time visualising the possible outcomes of the decision they have to make. I am not talking about a quick glimpse of what it may look like. I mean immersing yourself in it and feeling it.
What does it feel like when you have unhinged yourself from a certain commitment? What does it feel like when you have a new opportunity in front of you? Try and visualise yourself into a day in the future and feel what it feels like. Sounds weird but you should try it!
3. BINARY IS BORING
Many of us think that a decision is choosing between X or Y. In reality it could mean choosing between X, Y, Z, A, or B. There is a paradox here.
Research has shown that we make better decisions when we limit the amount of options we must choose between. However, do not limit yourself unnecessarily.
Use this paradox to your advantage. Take the time to be creative before making a decision and create as many different scenarios as you can. Create extreme versions of the decision, look for the middle ground, look at it from above and below. Generate possibilities.
Once you have done that, eliminate as many options until only the most useful ones remain. You do this by linking it back to your values and by checking the decisions against other criteria that you have determined.
Decisions that count
Decision-making is your most powerful tool for creating a bright future. So, take care of the decisions you make, and they will take care of you. Remember above all to bring intention to every action and decision and watch the magic happen.
