Making Big Decisions

By Charlie Rogers

We are faced with decisions every day.

From which outfit to wear to how to responding to a difficult text message to deciding which career is right for us. It can often get overwhelming.

This can leave us with decision paralysis, where we’re unable to weigh up the pros and cons of our choices and to select the right option.

Often resulting in us sticking to the path of least resistance – the one we are most comfortable with. If we’re not ready for change this outcome can be useful, but if we’re seeking new opportunities for personal learning and growth then this can really hinder our progress.

The important thing to remember is that there will never be a ‘right’ decision. You will never know the outcome of the alternative to a decision you made. When making a choice, you’re working with the knowledge available to you at the time. As much as hindsight likes to tell you otherwise, that’s all you can work with when making decisions.

Even if you do end up making the ‘worse’ choice, it’s okay. If you learn from a decision, it can never really be considered a failure. Making a choice and learning that the outcome isn’t right for you is just as important as a decision where you made the ‘right’ choice.

The learning of a failure is equal to a victory.

Not all decisions are equal. The effect of the decision can vary considerably from one to another. Deciding which meal to have at a restaurant can affect the quality of your experience there, while deciding which graduate job to accept will affect where you live, your future career opportunities and who you meet.

To provide me with more energy for those bigger choices I try to limit as many small decisions as I can. I eat the same breakfast and lunch almost every day. I have a limited wardrobe, reducing my choice of daily outfit.

This isn’t for everyone. Variation in your breakfast and dinner can be really important to many people. The important take-away (no pun intended!) is that reducing the number of smaller decisions from your life can help you avoid decision fatigue.

But what about when you’re faced with one of those big decisions?

The first thing to realise is that we often overestimate the impact of certain decisions we make. We’re told that the first job you get will define your career, the person you marry will define your happiness and that your pay-check will define your success.

But this simply isn’t true. Yes, all of these factors have an influence, but you can change career at any time, end a relationship that makes you unhappy and create your own definition of success.

The second thing to understand is that making a choice is always better than being stuck in a state of decision paralysis, where you’re lost for which choice to make.

You learn from decisions. Yes, you learn what works and what doesn’t. But, you also learn what you like, what you enjoy doing and who you need around you to be happy.

This is absolutely key for making future decisions. The more knowledge you can gain about where you thrive in life, the clearer future decisions will be.

So, get out there, start making decisions and learn from every choice you make.