It is necessary to think carefully and maintain a sixth sense.
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Editor’s note: We have to make decisions almost every day, from small to dinner, to big cars. The author of this article has made 9 suggestions to help you make better decisions. This article was translated from Medium, author Jessica Wildfire, originally titled “9 Ways to Make Better Decisions”, and I hope to inspire you.
Most of us have regretted something or a choice. Maybe until now, we will still worry about a small decision made before. We don’t want to waste a little time on things we don’t like, even for five minutes.
The average person has to make 30,000 to 70,000 decisions a day. Sometimes we are troubled by some boring things, such as where to go for dinner. Or sometimes you have to make bigger decisions, like buying a car. So how can we make a better decision? Here are some strategies to help you.
1. Establish a ladder thinking
In the book Decisive, Chip and Dan Heath tell the story of Fiona Fairhurst, who is Speedo. The first leather garment was designed to “walk fast” and made its debut at the 2000 Olympic Games, making it a household name.
Farhurst had the simplest idea at the outset – to develop a performance swimsuit that would make people swim fast in the water. The idea was born when she studied animal skin tissue that swam rapidly in the water. In the process, she went to visit the Natural History Museum in London. When she first touched the shark scales, she suddenly had a flash of light. The shark’s skin feels rough when it is stroking in one direction, but it feels very smooth when touched from the other direction. She then tested thousands of fabrics until she found a fabric that was the same surface as the shark skin.
So, when you are faced with challenges, you will face up to the difficulties, define your problem in the simplest way, and build a step-by-step layer of thinking logic to analogy.Through this process, you will reach places you never thought of.
2. Make a small experiment
You don’t have to make a 100% perfect plan. Maybe you can divide it into several stages and then plan for different stages in succession over time. We are always addicted to the idea of bold action, but this is unrealistic.
Recall that when you made a major decision, For example, go to a school to study law, or enter a new industry. We usually think that it is a two-choice decision, that is, “either all or nothing at all”, in fact, they are not non-existent. If you want to study law, you don’t have to go to a law school. You can take a law class. If you want to enter a new industry, you don’t have to resign. Maybe you can follow someone in the industry to learn.
A big decision is made up of a series of small decisions that you make in order.
3. Be both thoughtful and keep a sixth sense
Psychologists say that when we are sad or stressed, we tend to make decisions after careful consideration, and we will spend more time collecting and investigating evidence. And when we are in a state of great relaxation or rest, we usually rely on our sixth sense – we don’t think too much, just do it according to our sixth sense.
The right decision requires a combination of these two modes to make. This requires a certain degree of self-awareness and the collection of corresponding factual data to support it.
But don’t let the evidence investigation delay your decision. Research on the theory of subconscious thinking (UTT) has shown that excessively digging into the details of existing choices increases the likelihood of regret. These studies are experimental, but also very insightful.
At some point, you need to throw data analysis aside and choose the right option when you have the best rest. It turns out that the old saying “going to sleep” is still very valuable.
4. Try 10/10/10 test
Any decision you make will have certain consequences, not all decisions can change your life. Think about 10 pointsAfter the clock, after 10 or 10 months, what will happen after 10 years, and then make a decision.
and do this for every possible option.
This strategy helps reduce personal emotions for us Make the impact of the decision. Most of us know a truth, we should not make decisions when we have personal emotions. The key is to stay calm. The 10/10/10 test is very helpful.
5. Find more options
Most of us make a mistake — we have to make a decision when we have to make a choice at the end. In the book Determination, Heath suggests that we should check our prejudice and blind spots before making decisions, because choices are often much more than we think.
For example, you don’t have to quit your job when you start a business. You can talk to your boss and get a more flexible time to arrange your work and business. You and your partner don’t have to choose to either get married or break up, you can try to live together first. There is not necessarily only one choice for one thing, at least I think so.
6. Add an option that does not exist
We need to spend more time and effort to come up with a third or fourth choice. You can pretend that your current choice does not exist to help you come up with more viable options.
First delete the existing options. Imagine your boss doesn’t let you resign, or imagine your partner wants to be with you, but now you don’t want to marry or cohabit with you, and you don’t want to take each other’s feelings. So what do you do? Maybe you may be shocked by your next decision.
7. Thinking about opportunity costs
List the gains and losses of each of your choices. This will be better than simply choosing to approve or oppose one thing.
There is a big problem in choosing to agree or disagree with one thing. Because this means that we assume that the weight of everything on the list is equal, but in reality this assumption is not true.
Thinking about opportunity costs forces you to look at your values and priorities. For anotherGiving up on one thing will make you clearer and what is really important to you.
8. Promote and inhibit mentality
There are two neurons in the brain to support the daily functioning of the brain – promoting the nerve center of the brain and inhibiting the nerve center of the brain. Promoting neurons always lets you think about what you can get from risk, while suppressing neurons is just the opposite.
On any given day, our environment has the potential to push our brain into a pattern of promotion or inhibition, such as traffic jams that trigger your inhibitory neurons. So you must be careful not to let your emotions affect your judgment.
It is clear that these two kinds of thinking are half the success. What you really need to do is calm down and force yourself to think from two angles. Think back to any small setbacks or worries that might confuse your mind. Of course, when you are angry, afraid or irrational, don’t make a decision.
Because of a strong emotional state, you won’t have good thinking.
9. Simplify what you want
There is a strategy at the end, and it may be most helpful to you. Usually we always pursue the details when we make decisions, but we forget our own initial and deep inner desires. This is the simplest problem and it is something we need to solve.
Most people know what they want. So the next step you have to do is to calm the swaying brain and remember what you think at the moment. If you need to, write them down and stick them where you can see them at any time.
making a decision is not an easy task. And we always have a way to delay, making it harder to make decisions than it actually is. The best decisions are sometimes the ones we are least worried about. Remember that worrying and thinking about the two are not the same. You don’t have to always find a reason for your decision. You just need to put the decision into practice.
Translator: Jane
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