Have you ever made a decision that you later came to regret? Or experienced a time when you knew you needed to act, but couldn’t seem to figure out the best course of action? Maybe you’ve taken action the best way you knew how, only to later regret the consequences and become negative about the end result? If you can honestly say “no” to all of the above, then I would love to meet you, shake your hand, and maybe even allow you to post an article on this site because chances are you’re a whole heck of a lot smarter than me. But hey, even if you are all that smart, you probably didn’t have the luxury of gaining all of the valuable experience I’ve been fortunate to acquire as a result of not always getting things right the first time and having to figure things out the hard way. 
One of the most uncomfortable situations in decision making arises when you know that you need to take some sort of action but can’t figure out which course of action is best. Scenarios constantly play themselves out in your head, both good and bad, and your mind gets preoccupied with thoughts of everything that has occurred that brought you to this point and everything that you can imagine might happen from here forward. It seems as though your brain busies itself replaying endless variations of “oh crap” “what now”, and “what if” , and the longer you stay stuck in this scenario, the more likely you are to experience some measure of frustration or negativity.
The solution is to learn how to make decisions more effectively, rather than taking rash actions or analyzing the situation to death without doing anything. Proper balance is key. Here are a few tips to help you make better decisions:
Decisions are best made with your mind focused in the present
Think of your mind like the computer that you are sitting in front of right now. If your CPU was busy processing two highly memory intensive programs called “past” and “future” that ate up over 90% of the machine’s resources, precious little computing ability would be left that could be used on anything else. Your system would bog down performing even the simplest of tasks and frustrate the heck out of you. With only 10% or less of it’s system resources available, how efficient would your machine be at gathering new information (downloading updates), analyzing what is going on in its current environment (performing a system check), and looking for solutions that would benefit you (like delivering this blog to your inbox or RSS feed, for example)
Naturally, your system works best when most of it’s resources are available for the task at hand. Your mind is no different. The past can never be changed. The future can only be speculated, and the only influence you have on the future is whatever you choose to do in each moment that we call “now”.
Never ignore your intuition
If I never went against my intuition and lived to regret it, I would have not have a basis of experience to write from. If I hadn’t talked to many people who have told me of similar situations in their own lives, I might even think myself a little odd. But the truth is, we all know that when we go against that inner urge that tells us to either do or not to do something that we will probably come to regret it later. Save yourself time and wasted effort and don’t rationalize away your intuitive responses. At the very least, pay attention to why they might be coming up. Even if you’re dead set on taking a particular course of action, your intuition could save you many headaches simply in the way of timing or the particular route you ultimately take in getting where you want to go.
Act and receive feedback
There is great peace of mind in knowing that precious few decisions are ultimately irreversible. OK, some are, like that bus is coming and do I get out of the way, for example. But other than situations like those, feel free to experiment and to try and fail until you ultimately end up with what you want, or maybe something even better. Don’t let your initial perception of what’s possible hold you back once you decide to take action. You may even avail yourself to new opportunities you never previously considered once you begin to take action. The great thing about taking action is that it gives you the opportunity to get feedback, something you never get to experience while kicking ideas around in your head. Once you try a particular course of action and it doesn’t get you exactly what you want, you have the opportunity to adjust your approach. That’s a much better place to be than still wondering if any one of the initial possibilities has any merit.
If you’ve gained some new insight on how to make decisions and take action, go ahead and get started. Remember, there is usually time to readjust and reevaluate along the way. Oh, and don’t worry about how long the process takes. As soon as you get what you want, you’ll start wanting something else anyway, that’s just human nature.
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