Use this one rule to make better decisions
20 Aug 2015

Use this one rule to make better decisions

2 mins to read
Rise above indecision with this tip on building character and finding clarity.


We’re more mobile, we often have more than one career, and we have multiple means of communication at our fingertips. We’re the architects of our own futures, but along the way, our futures are governed by a sequence of choices.

So how do we make decisions that help craft our best possible future?

Try this- when faced with a choice, ask yourself which aspect of your character is driving you to consider each option?

This will help you to be, and to become, the kind of person you aspire to be.

Now, align your choices with a big, longer term goal – say, what you consider to be your purpose. In other words, keep an end aim in sight when making calls to on which path to follow.

This approach requires you to think long range about what you really want to do with your life, as well as whom you wish to be and the character traits you want to let flourish. Which makes sense right? But how can we ace small decisions if we don’t truly know ourselves and where it is in life that we want to head?

Author David Brooks stresses the importance of character in sticking to long-term goals via his latest book, The Road to Character. This work has received quite a lot of press for its innovative take on the qualities Brooks believes define the most exceptional among us.

He argues that the things that lead us astray, call these ‘poor decisions’ or choices that dull our moral character, are short-term by nature. They’re choices driven by things such as vanity, gluttony and lust – namely, weaknesses.

He puts it like this: “People of character are capable of staying attached to a calling, purpose through the long run. The things that lead us astray, like fear, gluttony, and vanity are short run. Elements like courage, honesty, humility, (and I would add, self-accountability, respect, abundance…) take us on the long road.”

Brooks continues by saying: “Constant small acts of caring, giving, and considerate, humble thinking creates the trend in our lives that results in habitual self discipline, rather than remaining a slave to our weaknesses.”

Apply this idea to decision making by scrutinising your motivations. Is one option guided by vanity or gluttony? Is another guided by more noble elements, such as honesty and respect?

Letting yourself be guided by the ‘stronger’ elements of your character, as well as staying focused on longer-term goals, helps keep small choices in sync with bigger decisions – and by default, will shape your character in the best of ways.

On the importance of humility

For Brooks, one quality that helps us be our best selves, and therefore make our best decisions, is humility.

In an interview with the ABC’s Lateline in June of this year, Brooks defined humility as “radical self-awareness”. It’s a trait that allows you to see yourself from a distance.

Humility enables you to see your weakest spots. When you do, you can act to foresee traps that may trip you up on the path to cultivating strength of character and to reaching bigger goals.




Blackmores Logo

We accept

  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • American Express
  • Paypal
  • Alipay
  • Wechat Pay
  • UnionPay
  • Afterpay
  • Facebook
  • Blackmores Instagram
  • Blackmores LinkedIn