Making decisions can be the easiest and also challenging thing for humans depending on what we are deciding on. It can be as easy just choosing what kind of dress to wear to a party—we all know a gown would fit a lady for a dinner party right? While in some cases, it’s about making life-changing decisions which when goes wrong might not have a quick fix.
A lot of people have found themselves in this situation and while there are those who are happy about their choices, there are those who wished they had made a better decision. Obviously, their decision felt like the right one until the results were seen.
I have always believed that making decisions can be very complicated because until the results are out, you can’t tell what’s going to happen. In cases where people did their research and assignments properly before making decisions, they expect the best results and sometimes, the opposite happens. It’s not like they made the wrong decision but life can be very unpredictable.
Everyone human will have to make decisions. It’s a natural thing so it doesn’t have to be about having big dreams because someone who have decided to live a wasteful life also made a decision.
One of the things I enjoyed doing in my early years was listening or reading to people’s stories. Their journey, mistakes they make and what life became for them so it made me understand the importance of why we must be careful with making decisions. I learned why we shouldn’t just do things because other people are doing the same thing—what works for your sibling might not work for you.
Making decisions for me can be very tricky so sometimes, it takes time before I arrive on something. There are situations that don’t give me the time to think and I just have to be in haste which doesn’t happen often because I always plan ahead but sometimes, the unpredictable nature of life comes into play.
Given this, I don’t know if routine is the perfect word to describe the process I go through before making a decision.
- I try to understand the situation properly because that’s what determines what to do next. Failure to understand the situation can put me in a tight spot later on which I don’t want.
An instance was when I wanted to get my current apartment, I had to understand clearly that just getting an accommodation wasn’t the goal because if that’s the case, my previous place was good. I needed something to aid my business, like a place where I won't be struggling with bills.
Understanding the situation would determine the kind of knowledge and advice to seek. While gathering knowledge about the situation, I also ask people for advice which is a good thing—no man is an island of knowledge. It’s not a must to take those advice but it’s a good thing to compare and contrast which a lot of time broadens my vision. Seeking people ideas while also doing my findings exposes me to numerous options of solving a problem. It’s fantastic when I have numerous options open to me, I can evaluate them one after the other before choosing which one to go for.
The process of evaluating these options is what I call weighing the risk because there is usually not a perfect option and whenever a solution appears perfect to me, I always recheck because of the unexpected happening. I hate believing there is a perfect solution so I take my time to figure out risks. In situations where there are multiple suitable solutions and not options anymore, I cross check thoroughly with not just my goals but values. I go deeper, digging into what more these solutions are offering.
After thoroughly doing all of that, I can go ahead to make a decision and it’s always a good thing to have plan B just in case things don’t completely go as planned. Having a plan B for me doesn’t mean I haven’t done my assignments well, it means I understand the risk attached to my decision as well as the unpredictable nature of life.
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