Have you ever had a hard time making a decision? Has the delay in making one cost you something (time, money, job promotion, etc)? In my job I have seen it cost all of these things to people and it was simply because they could not make up their mind.
Indecision can effect you and your loved ones, cost you opportunities in your home and work life, and keep your mind occupied so you cannot focus on tasks. No matter whether your need to make a career decision or what to eat for dinner a delay can cost you.
Dan Miller in his book “48 Days to the Work You Love” says that he and his wife limit themselves to a two week window to make any kind of decision. To help make their decisions they have a 5 step process:
- State the problem.
- Get the advice and opinions of others.
- List the alternatives.
- Choose the best alternative.
- Act.
And just like your third grade teacher telling you during those standardized tests that if you don’t know the answer 100% to take the first one that came to your mind, that can be good advice here. In many instances your first thought of the right answer is going to be what is good for you. Don’t make your decision based on your first assumption but look at that as a really good starting point and work from there.
Being able to make a decision is just as important as having goals and dreams. If you have a dream and cannot decide whether or not to act upon it then where does that leave you?
Photo courtesy of spaceamoeba.