Each day is full of making decisions. The majority of them are easy and don’t even register with you when you’re making them. But some are monumental and can impact your future. So how do you consistently make the best decisions? Below are three ways I try to keep in mind to make the best decisions possible…
1. Always think of the long-term ramifications of your decisions. A good way to do this is to take emotions out of your decision-making process. Emotions are powerful, and if you only focus on what makes you feels good now, you may be hindering your future self. Sleeping in, not working out, not eating right, spending too much money on something you don’t need…these usually feel good at the time you’re making the decision, but if you take the easy or “feel good” option often enough, your long-term health will suffer.
2. Remove temptations. If you know that your self-control is weak when it comes to making certain decisions, try to stay away from having to decide. For example, if you have a huge sweet tooth, but want to lose weight, don’t keep sweets in the house. If you make unhealthy things inconvenient (or remove temptations), you will be less likely to do them. This is the opposite of number 3 (automation)…
3. Automate repetitive tasks. Do you have a hard time saving/investing money? Have it automatically withdraw from your bank account on the 1st and 15th of every month. Now you don’t have to remember to do something. Another way of thinking about this is to set up rules for yourself. By setting up rules, you don’t have to think about whether you should or shouldn’t do something. Some examples might be: not eating after 8 p.m. or before 6 a.m., wearing brown dress shoes with blue slacks, drinking 20 ounces of water as soon as you wake up, etc.
These are just a few ideas of how you can set yourself up to make better decisions on a regular basis. Do you have any tips that weren’t mentioned above? Feel free to share in the comments section below!
