Honing Your Decision-Making Skills (an exercise included)
Indecision leads to inaction.
While we think we are avoiding making a decision, we are actually deciding not to decide which is a decision in and of itself.
If you think you are avoiding making a decision, you are wrong. What you are doing is deciding not to decide.
Deciding is one of the most powerful things we do. It is where all of our power actually starts.
To change requires power.
To create something new requires power.
“Most failures are one-time costs. Most regrets are recurring costs. The pain of inaction stings longer than the pain of incorrect action.” -James Clear
“Choosing what to do is a lot more powerful than studying what to do.” -Brooke Castillo
Decision fatigue
Will power is a limited resource in your brain.
Leaving a decision undecided actually drains your will power.
Going back and forth and renegotiating with yourself drains willpower.
Unfinished/unplanned tasks also drain will power.
To Conserve Will Power
Constrain, decide, and put it in your calendar.
Committing to follow it.
Then you can use your will power for other more useful things.
A Decision-Making Exercise
Remember, “I don’t know” is optional. When responding to these questions, practice not allowing yourself to go into “I don’t know” and confusion.
Pretend that you did know, what would your decision be? You can always change it later.
Now respond to these questions:
- What decisions would you like to make this month? List them all.
- Prioritize them in order of importance to you?
- Why do you not want to make these decisions?
- Why do you want to make these decisions?
- Now give yourself a deadline and stick to it.
Flip a coin: Tell yourself that you will flip a coin at the deadline if you still haven't decided. Once the coin lands, are you disappointed or not? This can help you clarify your decision.
See what comes up then do some self-coaching. Or run your questions by me.
Need help learning the users' manual for your brain?
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