How to Make Good Decisions Quickly and Effectively
Nov 18, 2007 Laurie Pawlik-KienlenGood decision making strategies include trusting your gut and using your energy field. Here's two ways to make good decisions quickly.
The following two decision making strategies will help you make good decisions quickly – whether you’re deciding who to hire for a key position, what to order for lunch or who to marry – and you’ll be pleased with the outcome. Elaine St. James, author of Simplify Your Work Life, offers advice on making good decisions quickly. These good decision making strategies are effective when you're making both personal and business decisions.
Good Decision Making Strategy #1: Trust Your Gut
“Not only will you find that the decisions you make quickly are the better ones, but you’ll also find you’re much happier and more confident with those than you are with the decisions you make using laborious analysis,” says Elaine St. James in Simplify Your Work Life (Hyperion, 2001). St. James advises keeping a “decisions journal” for six months to determine how long it takes to make decisions and which ones were good decisions. Good decision making strategies – making good decisions quickly – involves tracking your past decisions, both good and bad. This works for personal or business decisions.St. James believes it’s important to go with your first instinct when you're learning good decision making strategies. It's crucial to trust your gut. Making good decisions means eliminating clutter or “noise”, such as what other people want or what you’ve been programmed to do by your parents or teachers. “Often our days are so filled with unimportant minutiae that we easily get disconnected from our inner guidance,” says St. James. Getting connected to your gut instinct takes practice, which is why St. James suggests the decisions journal when you're practicing good decision making strategies. It will help you make the right decision quickly by revealing how and when you get tangled in unimportant details.
Good Decision Making Strategy #2: Use Your Body’s Energy Field
Good decision making strategies involve your physical body. Using your body’s energy field to make good decisions quickly involves standing up straight, taking a cleansing breath of air, and either letting your arms rest by your sides or placing them against your solar plexus. Breathe in through the nose and out through your mouth. “It helps in the beginning to close your eyes,” says St. James in Simplify Your Work Life. “Not only to eliminate visual distractions but also to help you get in touch with your center.”Most people’s bodies tilt forward when they experience a “yes” response to a decision. Their bodies tilt slightly backwards with a “no” response. To determine your own bodily response (because you may be unlike most people), simply imagine a “yes” and a “no”. Which way does your body lean?
Once you know how your body responds when you're making decisions, you’re more in touch with you body’s energy field and you’ll be better able to make good decisions quickly. When you’re standing solidly and comfortably, ask yourself if a particular decision is truly in your best interest. Is it in your best interests to hire Jennifer, marry Bill or have a bacon double cheeseburger with super sized French fries for lunch? Good decision making strategies affect all aspects of your life.
“If the decision you’ve made is right for you, your body will start to fall forward ever so slightly; if the decision isn’t right, your body will start to fall backward every so slightly,” says St. James. “The more you work with this, the better you’ll get.”
These two decision making strategies – trusting your gut and using your body’s energy field – will help you make good decisions quickly.
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