Decide

"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing." Theodore Roosevelt

Making decisions becomes more prominent the further along we go in life. Day by day we are tasked with choosing what is best, or right for us. Try as we may, ultimately, much of the choices we face are left to us within our own capacities. To some, that can seem daunting, whereas others welcome the opportunity to make decisions. Decision making can be a nuanced process that utilizes elements from both ends fear/eagerness spectrum. Careful consideration means evaluating, forecasting possible outcomes, and calculating impacts in the near, and foreseeable future. Taking time to make decisions helps us feel confident in our process to get to a point of clarity, better understand complex emotions, and unearth the root cause of our potential indecisiveness. We must be vigilant to ensure our painstaking process to communicate/act with definition does not give way to stagnancy, avoidance, and being directionless. Not quite a foil, more running parallel to that thoughtful notion of patience, meticulousness , and option-weighing, is the boldness of decisiveness. When we are bravely confident in ourselves to trust our logic and emotions, the results can be powerful. Knowing what we want, need, believe, think, feel, etc. let's us respond in ways that are true to ourselves. Combined with a sense of social awareness, thoughtfulness, and foresight - decision making can be what we all require of it.

There are ways in which we come up against choices, or situations that riddle us with thought after thought. Those moments where we are challenged to make a decision, and we/life remain at a standstill until we do so. To move forward, we have to decide. To move forward, we have to choose. To move forward, we have to be committed to the consequences of words/actions. We can only pick one, and being dedicated to that decision makes a monumental difference. When we are betwixt and between choices, or choose multiple things, we are causing our own entrapment in limbo. When we make a bold decision, and fully believe it - everything around us works in concert to make it happen. From choosing what to wear, where to eat, how to approach a problem, all the way to what we'll do, why we care, and who we'll be - going courageously in the direction of our choices leads us to change. When we know the right choice, for us, and choose anything else, we have gone against ourselves. If we are going to vent or complain, we need to do something to remedy the situation afterwards. If it is worth communicating about, it is worth addressing. If it matters enough that we need to share it with others, then once we finish, we should follow up with a decision of action. We don't get to complain if we have no intention of resolving the complaint. Using things that are irksome as motivation to do something about them can continually be useful. 

All of us know people who are indecisive, and people who are too decisive for their own good. There has to be some middle ground where the benefit of that duality collide. Learning to be decisive is a lifelong process. The more we decide, the better we are with it. As with all things, practice makes us more comfortable, not necessarily perfect. The more we quiet down, slow down, and are down with ourselves, the better we get with making decisions that bring us peace. Listen to your body. What it is telling you? When we take a moment to pay attention to how we're reacting (excitement, apprehension, nervousness, sadness, heart-racing, etc.) that gives us insight into what might be best for us. Lists, lists, it always comes backs to lists. Writing down "all" the option to be able to tackle them all at once can us let clarify all the options available to us. Other times it's orating what we're thinking about to ourselves or to someone else where we stumble upon what we want to decide. What's the first answer that comes to your mind? Is our hesitation significant? What happens if we decide one way over another? What is the impact of it all? Deciding does not have to paralyzing, it can be a propelling liberation.

The thing about decisions is once we decide things start to get going. Indecisiveness leads to inaction. If nothing happens ... well then nothing changes. Sometimes we let our inner voices, or that of those we hold as prominent in our lives dictate how we make decisions. We know what we want to choose but hold back because of what they might or how they might react. What happens if we choose for ourselves and no one else? How does that demystify our judgment? Sometimes it's best to make a decision, and let the people we care about know after the fact. They might be concerned that or plan is already in motion but that gives them the chance to either get on board, get out of the way, or to get over it. Boldness in our own lives must center us. Who are we living for? Who has to mitigate the ramifications of our decisions? If it's on us, for us, then let it be about us. It's okay to decide for ourselves. It's about us. For once, it's about us. People matter, and we are included in that mattering. Question your decisions when you're deciding in the extremes of logic/reason and feeling. If we remove either/or from the equation, our decision can be skewed. It's often unwise to make a decision when we are in absolutes of our emotion - in love, in sadness, in anger, etc. metered, measured, and mundane is the place to be for all our choices. Without it, we may miss crucial components to our decision making process. X

Decision Making 101:
What are we deciding about?
What information is necessary to help decide?
What choices are available to me?
What options am I missing?
How does it all compare?
Which one do we choose?
How will we take action?
How can we review our choice?

Decision making is about making informed choices that maximize our outcomes for us, and all involved. When we are purposeful in our approach to decision making, the products reflect that.