Making difficult decisions in your life

Decisions, decisions. There are always decisions that we have to make. Whether it's a minor decision where it doesn't really matter if the end result has a negative consequence or a major decision that could alter the course of your life, nobody can escape the decision-making process. However, for many people, just the idea of making a decision fills them with anxiety and fear. The reasons that decision-making can seem difficult are firstly, because many people lack trust in themselves.

If you're uncertain or unsure about yourself and your ability to make decisions, then it is likely that you will find ways to procrastinate or you may defer to another person to decide for you. This can then turn into a cycle or pattern of behaviour leading to frustration, and also meaning that you miss out on a very important life skill - making decisions for yourself and following through on the outcomes, whether they are good or bad.

Another reason making decisions can be difficult is because people are often living with the attitude of 'better-the-devil-you-know' syndrome and the thought of changing something is more fearful than the thought of a positive outcome based on a decision they have made. Therefore, many people just settle for either avoiding making a decision or allowing someone else to make the decision for them.

Decision-making becomes easier with practice. Maybe you could start by making small decisions as quickly as possible, for example, what you're going to eat, how much money you're going to spend on a particular product, what you're going to wear, and what time you're going to wake up in the morning, and then you could graduate on to making slightly more significant decisions such as where you're going to go on holiday, all the way up to major decisions such as decisions about your children, your relationship, where you want to live and work.

Before you know it you will have mastered the art of decision-making and experience what it feels to just make a decision without second-guessing yourself. The mindset to develop for this is that you won't start questioning your decisions after they have been made, you will increase the number of decisions you make so that you get used to making decisions, and you will recognise the importance and value of decision-making so that it becomes something that you want to do more. If you've been someone who has been indecisiveness for most of your life, this will possibly feel scary to you initially but I promise you that being good at making decisions can have a powerful impact on your life.

My experience of making decisions as a business owner and also in my personal life has transformed my life because it has left me feeling like I am in absolute control over what happens. If I decide to spend a specific amount of money on marketing my business, then it is my decision. If I decide to be on social media platforms, then it is my decision.

If I decide to go on holiday, make purchases, wear a specific outfit, or anything in any area of my life, then it is all decided by me and I love that! It does not mean that every decision I make works out the way that I want it to but there is always something to learn from anything that goes right or wrong. Therefore, I consider it to be a win-win situation.

Give yourself a challenge to start making your own decisions today and see what happens next.