How to make the right decision?
From childhood, a person must make decisions: what to eat for breakfast, what to go to school, what institute to go to, whether to move to another city. And the older we get, the more responsible and serious questions stand in our way. Most often, people make decisions very quickly, because they know in advance what they want from life. But there are situations in which everyone can get lost. How do you learn to make the right decisions? There are several psychological methods. Each of them, to one degree or another, suggests how to learn how to make the right decisions and how to understand that the decision was made correctly.
Find a compromise
A narrow frame is one of the most common reasons why a person cannot make a quick decision. These are the very difficult situations in which there are only two options and there is no alternative.
Psychology says that you should always try to find a compromise and avoid extremes. That is, it should be understood that not everything in the world is white and black, there are other colors.
For example, to the question “Should I go to the cinema?”, It is not necessary to answer “yes” or “no”. You can go to the cinema, but not today, but on the day when there really is a desire for it.
Or there are doubts about what breed of dog or cat to get, you should not torture yourself with the decision. You can just go to the nursery and choose the animal that you like the most.
Beware of extremes
This method can be called a continuation of the previous one. Very often a person becomes attached to the goal for which he was initially tuned in. And this is good as long as it does not start to cause inconvenience.
For example, someone wanted to buy an apartment in a certain area. He had dreamed about it for several years, but when the money appeared, he found out that housing there was not for sale. And then he begins to think about how to make the apartment appear.
However, he does not think about the fact that he can find his home in another area, which is objectively better and more suitable for him. In life, you should not be afraid to change your tastes and preferences, and based on them, make new and correct decisions.
Explore all decision making options
Psychologists advise using the disappearing options method. This means that you need to try to imagine that the most preferred option has disappeared, therefore, you need to look for others. During this process, you may discover that the dream apartment is not the last or only instance.
Analyze additional information
According to this method, all decision-making problems arise from a lack of information. This applies to any issue – personal relationships, business, self-development.
Many psychologists wonder why people try to gather information about small things, but when it comes to making a serious decision, they fall into a stupor.
Before going to a beauty salon or buying shoes, a person reads reviews from other users and follows recommendations. But when choosing a job, for example, he forgets about it.
Experts advise not to hesitate to ask questions of interest if you have thoughts about changing jobs. At the interview, not only the employer has the right to be interested, but also the potential employee. Read how to successfully pass an interview here.
Do not be afraid of questions like “Who held this position before me?”, “Where does this employee work now?”, “Why was he fired?”, “How long did he work?”. These questions will help you understand what to expect from your future work. This factor will be decisive when making a decision.
Remember that a specific question is a detailed answer. This can be seen in one study that was conducted in a hardware store.
When consultants were asked to talk about a particular phone model, only 10% mentioned its negative aspects. But when the client asked to talk about the shortcomings, almost 100% of the consultants talked about them.
Don’t be guided by emotions
In order to make the right decision, you need to try to get rid of emotions. The thing is that under the influence of the moment, a person is not able to think rationally.
Momentary emotions are an unconscious and impulsive choice. And this theory can affect any area of life and any decision: to get divorced or not, to marry this person or not, to leave for another country or stay at home.
Seek advice
Of course, you need to make decisions on your own, but listening to loved ones is also useful. They can help with advice when it seems that it is simply impossible to make a decision.
You can use the “substitution” method. This means that you need to try to give yourself the kind of advice that you would give to a close friend. This is a very successful way, because usually, by advising something to another person, it is possible to get rid of emotions. Thus, you can understand the true reasons and find the most correct solution.
Don’t act rashly
Sometimes the best decision maker is time. Sometimes the only sure way to get rid of your emotions is to just wait.
An hour is enough for someone, a couple of days for someone. The most important thing is to get distracted and try to do something else.
But this method has a drawback – it only works when circumstances allow you to take your time. If time is short, this method will not work.
Concentrate fully on making a decision
Another proven method of getting rid of emotions is concentration. This means that during the interview you need to think only about what the boss says and the conditions that he describes. Everything else is secondary, and can wait. At this point in time, extraneous thoughts will only distract.
Our psyche is arranged in such a way that when we have to make an important decision, we subconsciously try to avoid responsibility and begin to engage in useless things or fall into complete inaction – procrastination. We have already told how to get rid of it. Remind yourself often what is most important to you at the moment and prioritize correctly.