The true dynamics of decision making
Posted on January 18, 2010 by William Powell, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.
We have to make decisions every day. How many of your decisions have a greater purpose than just the act of making the decision itself?
A day without making decisions is a truly unconscious day. The moment you awake you are faced with a decision, “Do I get up and start my day, or do I just lie here?” For some, that can be a difficult question…especially on Mondays. What determines the decision you make? Is it an overbearing boss that acts like Attila the Hun if you show up 30 seconds late? What about your responsibilities to make sure your kids don’t set the house on fire while getting ready for school?
Life can offer us some interesting situations, at times. Many of us make decisions from a very defensive posture. We make them because we have to make them. We are avoiding chaos, destruction or other unpleasant issues. Why do we have a lesser of two evils mentality when it comes to many decisions in our lives?
This defensive decision making mindset sets us up to be victims of life, and, for many of us, our destiny rests solely on the lesser evil. Does this sound like living life or merely surviving it? You’re reading an article under a Personal Development heading. My guess is you aren’t looking to simply survive in life, but rather conquer it.
As with most things in life, decision making is governed by how you choose to frame it, your perspective. Have you actually sat down and determined your vision in life? I don’t mean: “I want to be healthy and have a happy family” type vision. That’s all well and good, but if your vision isn’t so big you can’t see how to achieve it, it’s not big enough. Be specific.
You see, it’s not about having this big vision so you have something to talk about at social events. A vision guides your decision making process; it puts you on the offensive regarding how you approach problem solving. There is something very powerful that happens subconsciously when you are no longer prey to a victim mentality. Vision gives us the opportunity to make decisions. This is a very different perspective to “having” to make decisions. It gives you the ability to take control of your life.
Does your vision only include you? Selfish visions are self destructive in nature. You will make only self serving decisions and burn nearly every bridge you have in your life. Include others in your vision; you won’t be able to go it alone anyway. Let your vision allow you to positively impact your sphere of influence; you should also determine how big you want your sphere of influence to be.
Having a big vision is quality leadership. You are leading yourself, but also including others in your vision and leading them to accomplish their vision as well. Win-wins are always the best course of action when possible.
Take some time to sit down and begin crafting your life vision. If you’re not sure of what your vision should be, then approach it from the question, “What would you like read at your eulogy?” If you have a life partner, include them in the process. Be boldly honest about what’s in your heart and encourage them to be the same. You might be surprised where both of your visions overlap, not that they necessarily have to. It also gives you a great opportunity to hold one another accountable and facilitate the decision process. Write down your vision and refer to it when you have important decisions to be made.
These are some very superficial suggestions on what can be done. You’ll find things that work for you, your temperament and personality. Go with what works for you, but don’t let things that “work for you” dilute your vision. Most of all, conquer life and live it, don’t simply survive. Everyone is here for a reason. Live like it!
An important note: Don’t be so static that you can’t modify your vision as you need to, but don’t be so ambiguous that you have no direction in your life from having your vision. It is definitely a balance.
