Wednesday 8 April 2009

Decisions, Decisions. How to Make the Right Choice with Self Confidence

Making decisions comes naturally to some and not to others. Self confidence plays a major part in somebody’s ability to make quick decisions. Once made, a decision will provide energy and motivation to make that decision the right one.

But how do we know if we have made the right decision?

Ultimately, nobody has a crystal ball. But there are several things that we can call upon to make the best decision possible.

Information
To the best of our ability we need to do our homework about a subject. Find out as much about the problem or answer that you need to make as possible. This may take time and sometimes we don’t have the time we would like to research the point in question. Fortunately with the aid of today’s technology, finding answers to our queries can be a lot quicker and easier. Although it may not be easy, if we can push for as much time as possible to do our homework, the decision is more likely to be an informed one.

Experience
Quick decisions can be made if we have experienced the situation before. We know the pitfalls and the likely outcomes because we have seen similar circumstances in the past. Experience is a wonderful thing because it often means we can do things on auto pilot. We make decisions daily and even hourly yet we probably don’t realise it because they are decisions we make without giving a second thought, based on the fact that we have been along this road many times before.

Seek Advice
Along with doing our homework comes seeking advice. Making milestone decisions on a particular point which we have no experience will work out much more in our favour if we speak to people who are expert in the field or at least have experience of the point in question. Some advice may come at a price. Legal or financial advice will probably cost but will be worth it in the long run if it points us in the right direction. It’s surprising how so many people will not ask for advice. It dents their pride to think that they don’t know all the answers or cannot work the answer out for themselves. Others just don’t like to burden folk with their problems believing that they have enough of their own. Yet we all like to be needed. We all like to think that we have something valuable to contribute, so are very often happy to give our advice, and for free.

Gut Instinct
Sometimes a decision just feels right. That new house we are after, we can’t put our finger on why, but it just feels like the right place. It’s giving off the right vibrations. That business deal we are trying to clinch, it just seems like the right decision to make. Unfortunately, when speed is of the essence, we need to make a decision straight away and we don’t have time to do the homework. We may just have to go on gut instinct. But if it doesn’t feel right, if there are any doubts, do not go through with it. Experience can provide a terrific grounding for gut instinct. Deep in the subconscious mind we may be recalling a previous similar situation and although the clarity isn’t there, the feelings are coming through via our subconscious mind.

The hard part of using gut instinct is appreciating when it is saying “no”. We can be left with the question, are we saying “no” because our gut instinct is saying so or is the answer “no” coming from fear, fear of stepping outside our comfort zone?
This is when homework, experience and seeking advice will help determine whether it is gut instinct or fear that is holding us back.

Entrepreneurs and business people are extremely good at making quick decisions. As they become more experienced the right decisions are made more frequently. We all make mistakes and if we make the wrong choice, we have to view it is part of the learning process. Making the correct choice will become easier as we learn and absorb more. Then we will have the self confidence, inspiration and optimism to go forward believing that we are making the right decisions.

How fantastic is that?

Terry Norrington

http://www.whatisthemeaningoffaith.com

http://www.whitedovebooks.co.uk/index.htm#terryn1

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