We make decisions constantly each day from the moment we wake until we go to sleep. Most decisions are straightforward, for instance ‘Do I want tea or coffee?’ and ‘What time should I leave the house to get there on time?’. However, some decisions are more difficult to make, such as ‘Should I switch jobs and if so which job should I do?’ or ‘Do I want to stay in this relationship?’.

What do you do in these situations? For some people they rush and decide on something and then later regret it, and for others they take a long time to decide and sometimes the opportunity has already then passed them by. A few people may ask others to make a decision for them which may lead to future tensions in that relationship or leave the person feeling dependent on those around them to live their life.

Apply reason and intuition

In my experience, I find that applying reason first and then my intuition helps me to make the best decisions. To apply reason, I look at all the facts and figures and possible results from certain actions; I often make notes during this process and include the pros and cons for each possibility. This sometimes also involves doing some research to gather all the information I need.

Then I apply my intuition and ask myself ‘How does each possible decision feel?’. If I get a bad gut-feeling about a particular decision, I then ask myself ‘Why?’. This is important to do because this bad feeling is likely related to a similar situation in the past that gave me a negative experience, so If I can work out which situation this feeling is linked to, I can then ask myself is this justified for this present decision.

Get the motivation

What ever decision you make, you need to have the motivation for it or else you may risk not implementing the decision effectively. You may be doomed to fail if you are not fully behind your choice so it is worth investing the time in applying reason and intuition.

I find it useful to ask myself, ‘How motivated am I on a 1-10 scale (where 10 if 100% motivation) to go ahead with this decision?’. I always say that anything with at least an ‘8’ on the motivation scale is a pretty good indicator that I will carry out my choice with commitment.

You will also be more motivated to carry out your choice if you were the one who decided on it. It is great to ask people for advice, however, it should be your choice and you should get the final say on how your life goes. And making your own decision will definitely add to your motivation.

The outcome

It is important to note, that using reason and intuition and getting your motivation right are extremely important, however, it may not guarantee that everything goes to plan and that you are completely happy following making a decision. This is okay! Life is an experience and not everything is within our control but at the very least, you can tell yourself that you thought things through and that you made the best decision possible at the time based on the information you had available to you and based on how you felt at the time.