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How To Be Confident In Your Decision Making

By Jed McCall

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 29Apr2010 Word count: 750 Viewed: 939 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Finding the answer to a difficult, complex problem can be a daunting experience. When you finally reach a conclusion about ending a personal relationship or starting a new career, you want to be sure that it is the right decision. This is particularly difficult if there needs to be a snap decision made, for many wrong judgments are made in these situations. For sure, being decisive is sometimes not the easiest way to be. Many people lack confidence, others have anxiety issues, and yet having confidence in your decision making is one of the most effective ways to boost your self esteem, your chances of success and satisfaction.

Fixing a bad situation has more than one benefit. First, and most clearly, fixing a bad situation solves your problem. But think also about the benefits to your character, your self esteem and confidence. There is nothing sweeter than fixing a problem by yourself, from knowing that you are self reliant and capable of greatness. Enhanced decision making is the means by which true independence is attained. A vote of confidence in ones decisions is a vote of confidence in them, as a person.

Problem solving is a skill that requires the individual to sometimes think outside the box. Once we have become adept at taking decisive action, these abstract skills can be applied in all areas of our lives. You find yourself becoming more creative, more open minded, more ready for change, and yet you may also reach a stage where attempting to fix something indicates belligerence or stubbornness rather than clever thinking.

For instance, a lot of people obsessed with fixing things do so because they believe they are always right. This is not good decision making. Despite the fact that self belief is important and desirable , you should never cut your nose to spite your face. Someone who is good at making decisions takes counsel when it is needed, understands the limit of their own knowledge, and yet is confident enough to disregard bad advice when necessary.

At one time or another, we have all had that niggling feeling that something needs to be done, but are then unsure how to sort it. You know you have to act, but how? To answer this, we need to consider the different approaches human beings take to decision making, which tend to fall in to two distinct categories. On the one hand, there is problem based decision taking, and on the other we have pre-emptive decision making. The former is a reactive process, while the latter is largely proactive.

Reactive decision making happens in the situations we referred to earlier that call for snap judgements. Typically, a reactive decision requires the individual to use their instinct to assert themselves in a situation, for instance, a police officer deciding whether or not to make an arrest. Although reactive decision making is not an exact science it is, however, possible to develop a state of mind that is calm, rational, self assured, in possession of the key characteristics that lead to better judgement calls.

Remember, very few well made decisions are made by someone who is angry, distracted or flustered. Proactive or pre-emptive decision making involves making plans, predictions to avert a potential disaster or to increase the likelihood of a potential success. Typical example of these forms of decision making are government projects, a pension plan or a military strategy. Individuals who excel at this form of decision making possess a keen eye for detail, a logical mind, excellent reasoning ability and the drive and dedication to see the plan through to the end.

Which type of decision maker are you ? Do you prefer to plan for eventualities or to think on your feet? If you have answered yes to either one of these questions, I have some news for you: relying solely on just one form of decision making is a recipe for disaster. If you rely too much on instinct, the risk is there of biased, rash decision making. Likewise, a reliance on plans can lead to panic setting in when events conspire against you. We need, therefore, to find a happy medium between excellent planning ability and being comfortable with adapting to events and random situations.

Through practicing self awareness, you can aspire to be both a wise judge and bold, spur of the moment, decision taker. This means you need to be honest with yourself at all times, even when it is in the heat of the moment.

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