Your 7-Step Process to Successful Decision- Making
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008You have to make decisions everyday. What to wear? Where to eat? What brand of toothpaste to buy? Which phone service provider to use? What emails to read first? Birthday gifts to shop for loved ones? Where to live? Who to date? Marriage??
- Are you aware of how many decisions you need to make in a day?
- Do you know how to prioritize your decisions?
- Are you overwhelmed yet?
Don’t blame yourself if you procrastinate or slip into denial. It takes persistent practice to make smart fast decisions.
The more you practice, the faster you’ll trust yourself.
Let’s take a look at the seven basic steps of successful decision-making.
1. Stop Thinking
Do you know why you get overwhelmed? Exhausted? Irritable? Frustrated? Worried? Stressed? Doubtful?
The problem is thoughts are swimming in your head, tons of thoughts. They don’t stop until you make a decision.
Do you know why you don’t make an important decision?
Because you’re always thinking, and even when you think you’re not thinking, you are!
You’re on autopilot and decisions that need to be made are still swimming in your head. Then when you reach your deadline and have to decide, you make a poor choice because you feel rushed or lack clarity.
When you become aware of your thoughts you can stop thinking.
Here’s what you need to do next…
2. Create Space to Feel What You’re Really Feeling
Each thought has an emotion attached to it. That’s why the more decisions you put off making, the more overwhelmed you will get.
Overwhelm creeps up on you slowly. It starts off as doubt, turns into worry, increases to stress, leads to irritability, frustration and finally exhaustion and overwhelm.
Would you like to bypass that rollercoaster of feelings when you have to make an important decision?
You’ve got to allow yourself to feel. When you numb your emotions, they become destructive.
Grab a pen and paper, no excuses and let yourself feel.
What do you feel?
3. Write Down a Challenging Decision You Need to Make
When you experience denial, you don’t even know what you need to decide. This is a great way to cause chaos, miscommunication and upset in your life. The problem is not going to go away.
Do you leave your job? Stay in the unfulfilling relationship? Ask for a raise? Spend money on a much-needed vacation when a credit card debt is due?
Don’t skip over this. Write down your question.
4. Ask Yourself Why You Have to Make This Decision
When you look at the question you’ve written down, ask yourself why this decision is important to you.
For example: Do I end my relationship with boyfriend?
There’s a reason why you feel like you need to make a decision. You need to use your intuition to look inwards and discover your true feelings. The only reason you don’t have the answer or are scared to see the truth is because you have an unconscious fear.
When you break down the decision-making process into steps, it removes fear.
This opens you to the energy of creation.
5. Create the Outcome You Want
You know what you want. What stops you deciding is fear of making the wrong choice.
There is no poor choice if you’re doing the best you can.
Close your eyes and bring your awareness to your solar plexus (a few inches above the belly button and below the heart). Now move your awareness inside this space.
Feel deep inside yourself. You are connecting to your Will that guides you to live purposefully.
You will always make the best choice when you make decisions from this space of awareness.
6. Release Attachment to the Result
Once you’ve made a decision; let go of how you think things are going to turn out.
If you worry or obsess over your choice; you’ll drive yourself nuts.
What’s done is done. There is a learning curve in using your intuition to ensure good decision-making.
Better to decide, than let people, circumstances and life control you.
7. Allow Yourself to Receive Intuitive Guidance
The biggest mistake I see people make is they look for answers outside of themselves.
Can you get quiet enough to hear your inner guidance?
The guidance is always there. In fact every aspect of your sixth sense is giving you support.
Do you know how each one of your intuitive senses can give you guidance?
When you are in tune with your intuition, you’ll feel confident about your next step.
When you allow intuition, it will become a strong presence in your life.
Tune In, Trust It
It’s simple to make successful decisions once you get in tune with your intuition. Depending on how receptive you are will determine how fast you trust yourself.
Start off with making small decisions faster and then when you feel ready, tackle the more challenging choices you need to make.
Keep following these 7-steps above and you’ll soon eliminate self-doubt and become a powerful leader.