MAKING CHALLENGING DECISIONS

John Maxwell once said, “Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you.” At
every stage in our lives, we are confronted by certain decisions. Most times, it’s a decision as
simple as picking a breakfast cereal, deciding when to sleep, or picking what color of dress to
wear to prom. Decisions like these though important, only last for a short while. On the other
hand, you could be faced with a more difficult decision. A decision about a choice that you have
to live with for a longer period of time such as: who to marry, what career path you should
follow, or when to get a house. Decisions like this are usually challenging because you realize
that you have to live with whichever choice you make for a while. This makes you doubt your
knowledge, your feelings, and you over-think so much because you want to consider all your
alternatives. Eventually, you find yourself making the wrong choice or deciding to procrastinate
and in some cases, lose out. The million-dollar question now is; “what is the best way to make
decisions?” I’m going to teach you the most convenient steps to follow when you are confronted
by a challenging decision. So, let’s get to it.
Steps to help you make challenging decisions
The first thing to accept is that most times, you cannot know all your alternatives. As humans,
we are often bugged by the fact that we don’t know all the choices available to us. We don’t like
uncertainties. We believe that knowing all your options makes you make better decisions. While
this to a certain extent is true, it’s impossible to figure out all the alternatives at times. So, accept
that.
Know yourself. The foremost step in the decision-making process is to know yourself. I know
this may sound a bit odd, but it helps. Knowing yourself involves knowing what you like and
what you dislike, what you want and what you don’t want, what you are aiming for, and what
you want to avoid. This helps you discover the decision or choice that will fit you. For instance, I
know I like SUV vehicles. This means if I want to get a car, I wouldn’t go for a sports car or a
pickup truck despite how common they are because they wouldn’t fit me. Regardless of the type
of challenging decision you want to make, knowing yourself will help you make a decision that
will be for you.
Reminder: you can’t decide for someone you don’t know.

List your options. As stated earlier, you can’t know all your options. However, you will know
some. List the options you know are available to you and conduct research on them. For
instance, if you want to pick a career path or job, write down all the job openings you have
available to you and research them. Read about them, ask questions from people in that field,
find out how much you can earn, how stressful the job can be, the leisure hours you will have to
yourself, and so on. This will make your decision-making process easier.
Reminder: make the best out of what you have on your list. Don’t waste your time and efforts
trying to figure out all the alternatives because you can’t.
Consider your resources. Resources are items that you will use to achieve what you want. This
step is particularly important if your decision involves money. For instance, if you want to get a
house, you need to consider how much money you are willing to spend on the house. This will
help you decide which house to buy and which to cross off your list.
Reminder: your resources help to limit the alternatives.
Seek advice. Before making a decision, seek counsel from people who have made that decision
successfully. You must have heard of the saying, “experience is the best teacher.” Regardless of
the type of decision you want to make, someone you know or have access to would have made
that decision before. Talk to them about your fears and doubts.
Reminder: People with experience will help you in avoiding mistakes.
Make the decision and trust your heart. This step is the easiest and the most daunting. It’s
easy to list your choices, conduct research, and seek advice. However, after doing these, most
people still cringe at the thought of making that final call. It’s normal to have second thoughts
before making a big decision, but never let that thought or doubt cloud your judgment or make
you procrastinate. Procrastination doesn’t mean you are being cautious, it makes you lose out. So
trust your heart and go with it. David Gemmell once said, “Trust your instincts and make
judgments on what your heart tells you. The heart will not betray you.”
Reminder: don’t procrastinate and don’t let doubts get to you.

Overall, be confident in your abilities and you will conquer all. Michelle Obama once said, “You
can’t make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen.” So trust yourself,
follow the steps, and above make that decision. You can do it.