“Tomorrow we should look back at today as the inspiration…”

Have you ever wondered if you are getting the most out of your life? I think we all have—but what we have to remember is that today we build our tomorrow. Some people wish that changes could take place. Some people wish so hard—but they fail to put the work in. Today, we should be working to make our tomorrow great. The first step in changing our lives is making the decision to do so—but these decisions are sometimes hard to make.

Knowing that the decision to change your life may be the most important decision you will ever make can make it harder to make a choice. As all of your inner demons come out to skew the way you feel and the way you make choices, it’s important to keep a level head, a clear mind and a strong understanding of what YOU need.

I decided to put together four techniques I have used to help myself make decisions. There is no perfect decision making process, but these techniques will help you make a clear and concise decision.

Try to get a second opinion

Going with your “gut” instinct often means that your decisions are highly swayed by emotion, which may not lead to you doing the right thing. To better see the bigger picture, try to get a second opinion on what you should do from someone you trust and who does not have a vested interest in the outcome.

Gather and study all of the available information

Many of us go with what “feels right” when making decisions; however, the outcome of important decisions should not depend solely on how you are feeling at that exact moment in time, as feelings can change quite dramatically from one day to the next. Before consulting your gut feeling, try to take into account all the important facts and assess the implications of each outcome. Consider what the risks are with each outcome, who it will affect and whether it is feasible.

Be sure to set yourself a deadline

While weighing up all of your options is an important part of the decision-making process, spending too much time seeking out possible solutions and trying to pinpoint the “right” one can actually make the process more difficult and stressful than it needs to be. While a certain period of time should be allotted for considering your options, it can help to set a deadline for making your decision and stick to it. Decide what would be a realistic amount of time for making your decision and write down the date somewhere for your reference.

Sit down and make a pros and cons list

It’s the age-old technique for making decisions, but writing down a list of the pros and cons of each of your options is also one of the most effective ways to make a sensible and well thought out decision. Write down all your options, then dedicate a separate sheet of paper to each. Draw a line down the center of each sheet and write a list of all the pros (or benefits) of the option down one side of the division, and all the cons, or disadvantages, down the other.

Rather than counting up the number of pros and cons for each option, it is important to “weight” each point according to how significant it is. You can grade each point on a scale of one to five, for example, in terms of importance.