7 Key Tips to Good Decision Making
Host: Eric Chow · August 12, 2019 · Episode 1 · 12 minutes
Transcribed from the episode audio and edited for names and terms. Wording can differ slightly from what was said; the episode itself is the record.
What is up everybody? Welcome to the Eric Chow Empowers Podcast. In this episode, I'm reading my own article that I just published called seven key tips for good decision making. If you have trouble with making decisions that A, you don't end up regretting in the future or B, making decisions in a timely manner in a way where you're not pondering it for too long. If you have trouble with either one of those things, these tips will hopefully help you a lot. If you've read the article, this is basically just the article. If you would prefer to not read the article, you can just listen to it here.
Thank you so much for tuning into the podcast, regardless. I really appreciate it. Please always feel free to give me your feedback, connect with me on social, underscore chow, Eric.
Without further ado, here's the article. This article was published August 12th by me and is called seven key tips for good decision making. My friend Millie gives me the topic, decisions. Sometimes decisions are quite easy to make, but well, easy decisions aren't really something we need to talk about. The difficult part is, well, difficult decisions. Decisions like Which college should I go to? What should I major in? Heck, should I even go to college? Should I talk to this person? Should I ask this person now on a date? Or what do I want to do with my life? Where do I want to be in five years?
Should I start this personal project and chase my dreams and passions or take the safe route? Do I watch videos on YouTube and Netflix or do my homework? And arguably the most difficult decision?
What should I have for dinner? Some decisions are obviously harder than others and what one person finds difficult may be an easy choice for someone else. After all, we all have different priorities, values, experiences, and perspectives that make each decision different for all of us, different things for us to consider. However, the one thing we all have in common is that we, all of us, face difficult decisions. Personally, I struggle to make good decisions all the time. I would say that the vast majority of the time though, I do make ones that I don't end up regretting, which is good. But the problem for me is that I sometimes take too long.
I spend too much time pondering which choice to make. Decisions are difficult and while I'm not always great at making them, I have learned a few things from my experience that I can share.
But before I get into those tips, let's define what good decisions are. For the purpose of this article and this podcast, good decisions will meet two requirements. One, the decision is one that future you will not regret. Two, the decision is made in a timely manner without dwelling excessively. A personal story when it comes to decision making. is my choice to take transpersonal psychology my senior year of high school. Taking the class meets the first requirement for a good decision. Not only is taking tripping the short version of saying transpersonal psychology, not only is taking tripping a decision that I don't regret, it's actually one of the very best decisions I've made in my entire life. I'd probably say it's top three decisions of my entire life.
So it meets the first requirement however, I hesitated when making it. I debated, pondered for a very long time and actually made the wrong decision. I didn't sign up to take the class. Which means I made a bad decision. It was only by a very dear friend and mentor of mine convincing me to change my schedule that I actually ended up taking the class. But I took too long, wasted precious time, and took quite a risk because Normally, it's a very difficult class to get into and it was only by the good grace of the teacher that I actually got in. I very nearly made a horrible decision I would have regretted for a very long time.
So with that story and with the definition of a good decision being established, here are my seven tips for making good decisions, which to review are ones that future you will not regret.
and ones that are made in a timely manner without dwelling excessively. Tip number one. Sometimes there isn't a clear choice when you have to make a decision. All the options seem equally appealing or unappealing. In such a situation, it might be better to choose to not dwell on the possibilities and actually make a choice quickly and decisively and let the situation play itself out. If all the options are appealing, just pick one and go. After all, if you judge the choices to be a good one or equally bad, it'll probably end up okay. Tip number two, when you do make a decision, stick with it.
Don't doubt yourself. Don't question it and don't change your mind. Well, unless your mind is screaming at you to change it, like if you pick a path and you see a bear down the path, don't stick to your decision, turn the fuck around. Yeah, yeah, definitely, definitely don't.
definitely doubt yourself in that case. But for the most part, doubt will actually ruin your ability to move forward. As an experiment and doubt, try taking 15 steps forward with your eyes closed. Notice how fear makes you hesitate or want to make you open your eyes. When you make a choice, commit to it and go all in. If you want the decision to turn out well, you better put in your all to make it happen. Tip number three. Ask yourself whether or not you're going to regret making a certain choice in the future. If you think you're going to regret not doing something, you'd better go ahead and do it.
To me, regret is poison. That's a phrase that is coined by Gary Vaynerchuk. It scares me to think that I will regret not doing something and in the future be unable to do it. That being unable to do it, that powerlessness scares me.
So do it. You have two options. You can face your fears and make a choice or face regret and look down in shame. Tip number four. Ask yourself if the decision even matters. If it won't matter the next day, the next week, the next month, make the damn decision. It doesn't matter. Your mind is tricking you into spending time on making the choice, but in reality, the future you won't really care. So don't waste your time. Tip number five. Speaking of not wasting time, remember every moment you spend debating is another moment lost where you could be taking action. I'll repeat that. Every moment you spend debating is another moment lost where you could be taking action.
So ask yourself whether it is better to ponder the choice more and work it out or whether doing so is a waste of valuable and precious time.
Tip number six, don't make long-term decisions based on temporary emotions. If you make a choice when you're upset or angry, it probably won't be a very good one. It'll probably lead you to number three, regret. If you make a promise when you're happy, you might break it when you're upset. Those things being said, if you use only logic and ignore your emotions, that would be a decision that leaves you feeling torn. Find a balance. Don't let your emotions control you. Don't let your logic control you and make sure you listen to your gut Make the choice that feels right for you through awareness Tip number seven if you're making the decision make sure it really is your decision Nobody else gets to make the decision for you unless you let them You make the call nobody else You can ask for advice feedback opinions what someone else would do, but you make the choice.
Your life, your decision, unless you're supposed to be following a leader or a boss. Make it yours. For my decision to take tripping in my senior year, several of those tips play a role. It wasn't really a clear choice, so tip number one doesn't help me. And it definitely was a decision that would matter to future me. So tip number four and tip number three both come into effect.
It was important to take this decision seriously. The mistake that I learned from my friend who had convinced me to change my schedule was that I did not make the decision for myself that aligned with my values. I failed tip number six and tip number seven. I was letting society's values dictate my choice and it caused me to make a bad call. I was fortunate it was able to be corrected because if I hadn't I would have ended up in number three, regretting it for a very long time. Making decisions are difficult, but they are a huge part of life. We make choices every day, constantly, in every moment, and it's important to make them as efficiently as we can.
That means making them with the best possible judgment as quickly as we can. And that's the article. Hopefully these tips and insights will help you make better decisions in your life.
Remember, I'm still working on all of this myself. So if you have tips, share them and we can improve together. Thank you so much for tuning into this episode of the podcast. Let me know what your favorite tip was. Let me know what you think about it. I would greatly and deeply appreciate it. And I'd love to thank you personally for listening to the episode. This is episode one of the Eric Chowin Powers podcast. Thank you for listening. Peace.