Life is about choices, the choices you make to live the life you want to live. Inevitably, there are good choices and there are bad ones, and that’s life. How do you make the right decisions? It’s all in the power of your mind. It’s not what you have, but how you use it. Your mind power is uniquely yours. Do not compare yours with that of others: it would be like comparing one’s brain with that of Albert Einstein. Remember, according to Einstein, everything is relative.
The human brain has a great capacity for growth and expansion; that is, most of us use only a fraction of our brain, and there is a lot of room for improvement if we effectively harness our brain power.
The power of the mind is based on clear thinking. With clear thinking, we make the right decisions. But clear thinkers are not born; they have to work on their minds.
This is how we make the right decisions in our lives.
First of all, give yourself plenty of time to make a decision. Of course, there are drastic and dramatic moments, like an emergency landing by a pilot, that don’t allow you the luxury of time to make the right decisions. However, whenever possible, give yourself enough time to make the right decisions.
Given enough time, you may be able to gather all the available data to help you make the right decisions. Mistakes are often made due to insufficient data available, and insufficient data often leads to misjudgment or poor judgment of a situation that requires the correct decisions to be made.
Don’t jump to the first solution to a problem, even though in your mind that may be the “perfect” solution. Always look for other options, even if they may not initially seem so ideal.
Sometimes it is difficult to make the right decisions when you do not have previous experience. This is where self-confidence plays a fundamental role. Self-confidence is an attitude, a way of thinking based on self-acceptance, regardless of the outcome of the decision you are going to make. This mentality has as its central value living in the present moment, which is the essence of the art of living well. The art of living well is to always live in the present moment, which is the mind’s ability to see the relationship between the body and the mind. Your mind is exclusively yours and yours alone; while the present moment is real and is timeless. When you live in the present moment, your mind will not be distracted by thoughts of regret about past decisions you made, or thoughts of worry about the outcome of decisions you are about to make. Living in the present allows you to accept the result of any decision you are going to make. This freedom from anxiety, guilt, and regret will allow you to make the right decisions without undue stress. Both self-confidence and self-acceptance play an important role in how you make the right decisions.
To make the right decisions, you must not let your emotions get the better of you. Sometimes your desire for something can influence your decisions. Therefore, it is important to be flexible about what you want or deeply desire.
To help clarify your thinking, it’s important to write down the pros and cons of your decisions so you can actually “see” them in writing.
If you are in doubt, it is good to seek second opinions so that you have an open mind about what others may say about your decisions.
Even if you are positive with your decisions, sometimes it is good to reflect on all the negative aspects of your decisions; in other words, to validate your decisions by asking yourself the question, “What are some reasons I might be wrong about this?”
You don’t have to be the president of a country or the leader of an organization to have to make decisions. Knowingly or unknowingly, you make decisions every day in all aspects of your life, and these decisions can affect your life in positive or negative ways. Therefore, it is important to make correct decisions with clear thinking, self-confidence and self-acceptance. Living in the present with full attention will help you make the right decisions.
Copyright (c) 2011 Stephen Lau