Making Better Personal Decisions
We make a lot of decisions in our lives. Some of these decisions are small. (What should I watch on TV?) and some of these decisions are big. (Should I take that job overseas?) However, the vast majority of these decisions, big or small, involve us personally. In other words, we are personally affected by the outcome of the various decisions we make. Since these outcomes can have both a positive and negative effect on our lives, it makes sense that each of us take the time to learn how to make better personal decisions.
We use our brains to make decisions. Unfortunately, our brains are the products of millions of years of development and evolution. In fact, we are still developing as species today. The thing is that this development proceeds like the remodeling of an old house.
In the beginning, there was the original house. Over time, a garage was added on. Then, a family room was put in on one side. A second storey was added. A fireplace was put in, etc. The point is the bones of the old house are still there, functioning, while surrounded by all the new additions.
Our brains are exactly like this. Things that developed a million years ago work right alongside things that developed ten thousand years ago. So just like the light sockets in the older part of the house are designed for a different era, so to the older parts of our brains. Yet, it is the whole brain that we utilize to make decisions today, decisions that affect us directly.
Scientists have estimated that the average person makes an average decision in less than ten seconds. Way back when, this was a good thing. When confronted by a life and death situation, you don’t really have the time to ponder your next move. However, this knee jerk decision making instinct may not be the best choice today. With many personal decisions, your best move is to take some time and think.
A primary step in learning how to become a better personal decision maker is to teach yourself to slow down and think about the decision that is facing you. With any decision, big or small, you need to take the appropriate amount of time to assess and weigh all the choices involved. It’s only when you look at all the angles and all the possible outcomes, that you can start making choices that increase you chances for positive results.