Two ways to make the best decisions 1260x542
3 Jan 2013

Two ways to make the best decisions

2 mins to read
Whether your decision is big or small, these tricks will help to guide you to the right choice.


Decisions. They can stall us, or move us forward. And sometimes they can stress us the hell out!

This morning I was meandering through ex-Cosmo editor Sarah Wilson’s wellbeing blog and saw her post on making the best decisions. Super useful stuff; and it reminded of some similarly wise (and complementary) words I came across from one of my favourite Aussie neuropsychologists, Sydney-based Nicola Gates, about a year ago.

I find myself using Nicola’s tip whenever I’m making a career decision. And now, I hope to add Sarah’s idea to my more general decision-making arsenal.

Here are their tips packaged up!

1. Just…. pick one!

What’s important about making a decision is the ‘just deciding’ bit, says Sarah Wilson.

She recalls an incident in which her then boss, ACP publishing big-wig Pat Ingram, was trying to decide between two magazine covers. One featured Angelina Jolie in a green dress, and the other had Jolie donning a black dress.

“I just picked one. It didn’t matter which,” Ingram admitted. She went with the black.

Here Pat made a decision between two options that were pretty equal in terms of their worth (if they weren’t both good options, she wouldn’t be weighing them up in the first place!).

So her strategy was to just pick one… and MAKE that the right choice.

Her team then busily set about designing a colour palette and look that suited the black dress. They could have just as easily done the same with the green dress, but they made this choice work.

As Sarah says: “There is never a perfect decision. The best option transpires only because a decision of some sort was made that served as a stable base from which to build and create an end result.

“We don’t have to be 100 per cent certain. You never can be anyway; who has such a birdseye view? Are you God? We just decide and make things matter a bit less. We just decide and we keep moving forward.”

2. Pick the option that best aligns with who you really are, or who you want to be

Nicola Gates has a different decision-making strategy, and I would hazard that this approach would work better with decisions that will carry more weight.

Not when you’re deciding the colour of your dress, say, but when you’re weighing up whether or not to quit your job, have a baby or start a new relationship… along with a million other ‘big’ scenarios.

She says: “Making decisions that reflect our true selves can lead us to the greatest personal happiness; [the psychologist and writer Martin] Seligman calls these ‘authentic decisions’. So, choosing well comes down to saying ‘yes’ to options that reflect who we are and what we value, and saying ‘no’ to options that go against our grain.

Gates gives an example. One of her clients was going back to work after having kids. She set her sights on an ‘adult job’ that paid really well, but once she was in the new role, disliked the person she became – instead preferring an old job that reflected who she really is and was. Gates calls this “her authentic self”. As a result she embarked on an ‘exit plan’ from the new job.

Gates’ words of wisdom: “Before making big choices, think about who you are and what you value. Take the time to explore your dreams.” 

I reckon both ideas – one instinctive and one that asks you to tap into your bigger dreams – are a great two-part tool kit for working out which is the best choice to make when you’re at a crossroads.

References available on request



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