How to make better decisions in 2019
Anyways, in my last post, I talked about some fundamental things that happened to me this year and how it impacted my life. All of this made me realize, how vital it is to make frightening but very significant decisions in life. I read a couple of incredibly well-written articles on Forbes website. It's “How Successful People Make Smart Decisions” by Travis Bradberry and “How Your Emotions Influence Your Decisions” by Svetlana Whitener. Feel free to give these articles a read as they inspired me to write this blog post!
I came up with 7 points that I always follow and reflect on when trying to make the right choice. Evaluating how multiple possible choices reflect on these points help me to make a decision that I believe will be satisfying and beneficial for me in the future. I truly hope you will find at least some of these helpful!
I came up with 7 points that I always follow and reflect on when trying to make the right choice. Evaluating how multiple possible choices reflect on these points help me to make a decision that I believe will be satisfying and beneficial for me in the future. I truly hope you will find at least some of these helpful!
• Try to be more open-minded. • Being biased about something is basically saying no to opportunities that may add to the quality of your life. You will be impressed by how many great new things you might discover if you step out of your comfort zone. Of course, it's important to have your own opinion on something, but what is more important is being able to justify why you think so, and the only way to do that is having witnessed it yourself and being able to explain why some things worked for you and some things didn't. As Mark Twain described, “Good decisions come from experience, but experience comes from making bad decisions.” Just try not to make the same mistake twice!
• Don't make important decisions late at night, wait till the morning. • It's a well-known truth that brain functions a lot better when it's well rested so the phrase “sleep on it” has persisted for a reason. Science says we tend to make the worst decisions late at night and first thing in the morning. It's recommended to save important decision making for when you're feeling most alert, generally a few hours after waking up. There is a great quote by Steve Jobs, it says “Never cut a tree down in the winter time. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.”
• Don't make important decisions late at night, wait till the morning. • It's a well-known truth that brain functions a lot better when it's well rested so the phrase “sleep on it” has persisted for a reason. Science says we tend to make the worst decisions late at night and first thing in the morning. It's recommended to save important decision making for when you're feeling most alert, generally a few hours after waking up. There is a great quote by Steve Jobs, it says “Never cut a tree down in the winter time. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.”
• Things change, what is hurting now, won't matter in a year or two. • And this comes to breakups, betrayals, exams, literally everything. Emotions play a huge role in our decision-making. Never reply when you're angry. Never make a promise when you're happy. And never make a decision when you are sad. Try to remember a 5 by 5 rule: If it's not gonna matter in 5 years, don't spend more than 5 minutes upset by it. If you are interested to read about how emotions directly influence our decision-making all explained by a scientist, give this article a read.
• It's okay to be selfish. • I found a very good quote on Pinterest, it says “Don't feel bad about making an important decision that upsets people. You are not responsible for their happiness. You are responsible for your happiness.” These are some true words of wisdom. And I really do mean it, it's absolutely okay to be selfish as long as you believe that it will bring more joy and happiness to your life. Go ahead.
• You will always be here for yourself, no one else. People leave. • I am really blessed to admit that I have friends who are still here for me for more than 5, some even 10 years now, but when it comes to newly made friendships, don't get too attached. This is a proven fact, that a lot of people we used to hang out with were just convenient for that time matter. Like friends from High School or University. Are you hanging out with these people because it's convenient or do you actually think that your friendship will last longer than student years? Think about it. Don't let insignificant people or temporary relationships impact the choices you make.
• No is an answer as well. • I know that my first point was almost the complete opposite one, but what I mean by this, that if eg. your friends are asking you to come out, but you have an exam or important assignment, just say no. The evening might have turned out great, there is a very high chance that you would have regretted it later. Don't cancel important or one-time possibilities for something less significant and what can be re-arranged easily at any time in the future. That's just a very common example from my environment, but you get what I mean!
• Always strive for better. • If you need money, but don't like your job, continue working, but at the same time look for another job. Don't be afraid to change jobs, don't get stuck in one place where you don't feel happy. Money comes back, but time does not. Myself, I changed 3 jobs in the period of the last 4 months. Now I'm finally settled and loving the place I currently work at. And it applies not to jobs only, but for yourself as a personality as well. Having a constant push to becoming a better person should be everyone's priority.
I really hope you found this post inspiring and helpful as it was a valuable experience writing it for me as well. I know my last few posts were very different to what I normally post on this blog (makeup looks, beauty product reviews etc), but I guess my values and interests slightly changed over the past year. BUT I do still want to continue posting content that originally started this blog. So heads up for that, more content coming soon!
I really hope you found this post inspiring and helpful as it was a valuable experience writing it for me as well. I know my last few posts were very different to what I normally post on this blog (makeup looks, beauty product reviews etc), but I guess my values and interests slightly changed over the past year. BUT I do still want to continue posting content that originally started this blog. So heads up for that, more content coming soon!
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