Making Decisions

We make decisions all the time.  Some decisions may be little (what to eat for dinner, what movie to watch on Netflix) while other decisions can have a bigger impact on your life (who you choose to marry, what job you choose to take).  Since we spend our entire lives making decisions, it makes sense that we would have a process to help us make wise ones.  The Wise Choice Process (adapted from On Course by Skip Downing) is one way to approach how to make good decisions:

1.  What is my present situation?  Start by identifying the issue you are dealing with, define the problem or challenge.Look at the facts and how you fell about them.

2.  How would I like my situation to be?  Although you cannot change the past, you can think about what you would like the future to look like.

3.  Do I have a choice here?   The answer is always “yes”.  You cannot control all circumstances but you have a choice about how you respond.

4.  What are my possible choices?  Create a list of all possible choices (brainstorm all your options).

5.  What’s the likely outcome of each choice?  You can’t always predict the outcome but you can decide how you think things will turn out.

6.  Which choice(s) will I commit to doing?  Decide which choice(s) would most likely bring out your desired outcome, make a plan of action and commit to it.

Applying this process allows us to take time to make a well thought out decision. Some of us may make decisions impulsively, we take action without taking the time to evaluate our options. Some of us spend so much time thinking about the possibilities that we never actually take action.  This process allows time to think, but ensures action.