No matter if you think you’re making good decisions, you’re more likely to have made bad decisions in your life. The judgments we make every day are often influenced by mistakes in past decisions, prejudices, emotions, and mental shortcuts that make us more likely to make mistakes.
That’s why when making an important decision, many people want to have all the help they can get to be able to choose correctly, but the important thing is to be prepared, have their own tools to decide and, above all, to train whenever you have to make a decision, however small.
- The following strategies will help you prepare and know what to do to make a good decision.
- As soon as you put them into practice.
- You’ll see the results.
In popular wisdom, there is an expression that puts the importance of pondering decisions: “Consult the pillow”. Beyond the metaphor, sleeping before making a decision allows us to rest so as not to decide quickly with a hot head and under pressure. stress accumulated throughout the day.
Often, it is not meditation or reflection that helps us decide better, but the fact that we are rested and have a free and fresh mind.
Unfortunately, we don’t always have that much time to make a decision, so taking a short break can already work well. Recent research has shown that even a small delay, just a fraction of a second, before making a decision, can lead to better accuracy.
Next time you face a choice, take a short break and think about the options available before making a decision. Don’t get carried away by impulse.
Making a list of pros and cons when making decisions is a centuries-old technique, because it allows us to visualize what can happen in different situations, whether to move forward or not, or to choose between one or the other possibility.
This list can be made on paper, using an electronic tool, a mentally or mentally mapping technique, thinking about it, as well as helping to save time, makes you realize the importance of thinking.
We don’t always have time for that. When we have to make quick decisions that is not possible, however, it is important to train the mind for this task, even in simple situations, to get used to and be more agile in thinking.
Researchers have found that stress can affect the way we make decisions and that this influence is often negative. A study published in Current Directions in Psychological Science found that in stressful situations, people are more likely to pay attention to positive information while losing interest in negative information.
The study authors suggest that when we make a decision under stress, we are more likely to focus on the benefits, ignoring potential drawbacks, so to make better decisions it is necessary to control stress levels.
A study by researchers at the University of Toronto found that people with greater emotional intelligence made better decisions and notes that people with lower levels of emotional understanding tend to let their anxiety about other problems influence current decisions, unlike people with high levels of intelligence.
In addition, the researchers also found that people who are aware that their anxiety is not related to the topic being addressed can make better decisions, indicating that people can postpone their decisions until they can focus solely on the topic. theme by hand and achieve better results.
When it comes to something very personal and stressful, a decision that will change important things, emotions often cloud judgment. In this sense, a study published in the journal Psychological Science found that looking at the problem from a stranger’s perspective can help you improve decisions.
In the study, researchers found that even when problems are intimate and personal, thinking about them as a stranger and putting distance between you and the situation can help you make smarter decisions.