A Proven Process to Make Effective Decisions

 I am going to call you out!It's hard to think of a challenging area of your life that didn't become challenging due to poor decision-making.Wiser decisions lead to a more successful and lower-stress life. You are less frustrated and have more peace.When you make effective decisions, your life is more enjoyable and satisfying.Master the art of decision-making and enhance the quality of your life by following this process:1. Decide what you're trying to accomplish. What is the end result that you're hoping for? Visualize it! To maximize your income? Strengthen your relationship? Minimize the financial or emotional cost? Advance your career? Be clear on the desired outcome of your decision.2. Make a list of your resources. Imagine you had to make a home repair. You'd determine which tools you had available for the job and then make a plan based upon those available tools. You might also purchase new tools. * What resources do you possess that are applicable to following through on your possible options?3. Brainstorm possible choices. Avoid judging your options too quickly. Make a long list. You can evaluate them later. Also consider the likelihood of success. Discard any solution with a poor chance of success.4. Consider the time and money involved. Will you have it. Is it worth trying to sacrifice other things you spend your time and money on currently?5. What are the risks? What can go wrong and what are the ramifications?6. Is the upside worth the risk? Some options are riskier than others, but the greater potential rewards are often worth the extra risk. How much do you stand to gain?7. What are the long-term implications? Who will be affected by your decision? What does your decision mean 10 years from now? What will you gain and sacrifice in the long-term?8. Can you rely on yourself to follow through? A good decision that you can't complete is no better than a poor decision or no decision at all. Sometimes the solution with the best likely outcome is too challenging to implement. Do you have the skills and the stamina to follow through?9. Keep your values in mind. Many options are unacceptable due to your values. Keep your values in mind and you'll be less likely to regret your decision later. What's important to you? Most challenges in life could have been avoided with wiser decisions. Most people take too much time to make decisions and they make decisions poorly. And, even worse, the surest way to ensure that you never make any progress is to never make any decisions. The most successful people make wise decisions, decide quickly, and follow through. Improving the quality and speed of your decisions may be the fastest path to a more satisfying life.