Proper Decision Making is a Skill that Can Be Learned

On a daily basis you make a number of decisions. Some decisions are good, some bad – regardless of the merit of the decision, decisions you make can have a lasting impact on your life. Given the decisions can have an impact on your life, it is fair to say that proper decision-making is a skill that must be mastered to be successful.

To become the person you want to be you need to make key decisions. No one else can make them for you; it’s all up to you. Choose the wrong decisions and you will make no progress or worse yet – go backwards.

So, if you can’t make good decisions are you doomed to a life of limited success? No. The good news is that making good decisions is a skill that can be learned. Most people can learn to make good decisions in life.

Decision-making becomes simpler when you know the desired outcome.

For a student the desired outcome is good grades. Students are conditioned that good grades lead to good jobs – so when you need to make a decision to study or not study for an upcoming test, the answer is pretty clear. However, when you move from the structure of school and parents, you will find that the number of possible decisions increases.

To overcome this you must find your focus. This is accomplished by creating a clear vision of who you want to become. With a vision defined, the next step is to start thinking about the qualitative and quantitative goals that make up the vision. Now that you know what the desired outcome is the next time you are faced with a decision you can determine if the activities will support your goals or take you further away from them.

Developing a plan with your goals and dreams clearly documented can help create focus in your life. With a plan it’s easy to compare your decision points with the vision: decisions that align with your vision are good visions, those that do not are bad.

Building a plan, a strategic plan, can help you with your decision-making