The best way to address a problem is to prevent it in the first place, or in other words, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That’s why the wise and astute consider their plans before putting them into action so they can identify potential problems before they become problems.
You can plan ahead when you take the time to research or consider your goals. In fact, asking yourself these questions can help guide you in making better, wiser decisions in the future.
1. What happens if I do nothing?
A refusal to make a decision is still making a decision. That is, you’ve decided that you don’t want to attempt to influence the outcome of your decision, so you are leaving it entirely to random chance. Well, probably not so random, because if other people are involved, they will most likely be making decisions that try to best benefit themselves.
As the Association for Psychological Science shares, fatalism and leaving things up to destiny strip you of choice in your own life. You can learn, adapt, and pivot if you’re wrong. That may not be an option if you just let an opportunity pass you by or you refuse to be proactive in your own life. No one’s going to live it for you, after all.
2. What’s the real problem I’m trying to solve?
Not every problem is as direct as we would like it to be. Sometimes, as Verywell Mind informs us, you may find that your bad decisions are driven from an emotional place by issues that you may not fully understand.
As an example, consider Tanya, who keeps bouncing from bad relationship to bad relationship. Why is she doing that? Why is she continuously choosing people who are not compatible with her?
Well, that kind of behavior often stems from a person’s unhappiness with themselves. They don’t feel good being single and alone because they need the external validation from a romantic partner. Rather than embracing patience and waiting to meet someone who connects on different levels, Tanya jumps from relationship to relationship as they crumble behind her.
And Tanya will continue that pattern until she finally starts digging into the real reasons why her relationships don’t work. The real problem in this example is not that Tanya keeps falling for the wrong person, but rather the emotions Tanya feels that drive her to choose these types of relationships.
3. What evidence supports and contradicts my decision?
A wise person looks for what is not immediately noticeable to them. Sometimes, the choices that we make have hidden dangers to them, or we may not know as much as we think we do. It’s important to try to consider all of the possibilities, including doing a little research before you make any major decisions.
That’s the fantastic thing about the internet! It is highly likely that someone has faced the same decisions as you and created a piece of content about it somewhere. There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel if you need a wheel to get where you’re going. Use someone’s experience and avoid the pitfalls that they ran into to help smooth your journey.
4. What impact will this decision have on me in a year?
As you’re making long-term decisions, you need to consider the repercussions of your choice. It’s good to think out a year, five years, even ten years if you can conceptualize that well enough. That’s particularly important if you want to get higher education and pursue a career in a particular field. You don’t want to spend years getting a degree that you can’t use or that won’t help pay off the debt.
That’s another big reason to do your research before you make the choice. You may be able to identify the cons of the decision before you ever reach the issue, which will save you time and grief. Not only that, but you want to evaluate if this decision will be a net gain or loss in your life. Of course, nothing is completely predictable, but you can make some educated guesses.
5. Is this actually a priority or not?
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that pressure indicates priority. Pressure is only urgency. That is, something or someone forcing you to try to prioritize the decision. That doesn’t mean it’s right, healthy, or good for you. It also doesn’t mean that said urgency should be your priority. There’s no one with a higher state of urgency than someone who didn’t plan well.
If you have people like that in your life, they will derail your plans and ambitions with their own if you can’t tell the difference. Sure, it’s good to be there for other people, try to help out, and make things easier. However, big decisions should always be considered carefully, even if you’re on a time crunch. And always keep in mind this phrase when other people come to you with their avoidable problems: “Your lack of planning is not my emergency.”
6. Am I making this choice out of fear?
Far too many people choose to stay in the wrong situations because they are comfortable. Because they fear the unknown. They stay in stressful jobs, bad relationships, or unhealthy situations because they may think that it’s less scary than the unknown. But, that’s only because we tend to focus on the unknown as a dangerous, scary thing instead of what it is – opportunity.
Instead of fear, we need to approach our decisions from a perspective of alignment. What is right for me, and my life? What is a choice that will lead me to a better, happier future? Is this adding to my life? My well-being? My health? Or am I deciding this because I’m afraid of the future? Am I sticking with unhealthy patterns because I’m afraid of what may or may not happen?
7. What is the simplest explanation or solution?
Occam’s Razor is a scientific principle that states the answer with the simplest path is most likely to be the correct one. Not always, mind you, but most likely. And, if nothing else, it’s a good starting place for making a decision or finding an answer. Big decisions aren’t necessarily complicated. Sometimes, they are blatantly obvious if you know what you’re looking at.
That said, a highly astute person can tell the difference between simplicity and missing context. For example, maybe Peter is trying to decide between going to work and going to college. He knows he was not a good student in high school, so he assumes that work would be the better choice. That would be the simplest solution, but is it the right one? Well, maybe.
High school is a tough time for a lot of people because it’s stressful, teenagers are a pain in the ass, and well, hormones. There are quite a few people who don’t do well in high school, but then do fine in college because it’s such a different environment and they’re in a different mental space. That’s why research is so important. Occam’s Razor can be an excellent place to start, but it’s not a hard rule.
In closing…
Impulsive, reckless decisions lead to chaos and disorder, disrupting your peace and mental wellness. However, you also can’t spend months agonizing and researching and agonizing more over the decision.
At some point, you just have to decide that you’ve gathered all the information that you can and take action. Personally, when I make a big decision, I do research until information starts repeating itself. Then I conclude that I’ve done my due diligence and make the decision.
And even if it doesn’t work out? That’s okay. There will be other opportunities, or you may be able to pivot.
