One of the things that could make or break a situation or even life is the ability to make sound decisions. Even if we are not in a leadership position, decisions always have to be made throughout the day whether at home, at work, at school, or any other place. The act of choosing itself is an act of making a decision.

There are situations where you have a lot of time to weigh in your options and foresee the effect of that decision. But there are also circumstances that would require us to make a decision in a snap of a finger.

That is why the skill of making a sound decision must be studied and practiced in such a way that we will make fewer mistakes and less if not zero negative consequences. Planning also requires making decisions, so short-term and long-term planning for one's life is an important aspect that you need to have this skill for. 

It is also imperative for leaders, in organizations, clubs, institutions, work, or even home life. When you are a parent you make decisions for the better for everyone. Hence it is a life skill that needs to be acquired and be as informed for as much as possible.

The first step in making sound decisions is defining and outlining the problem that needs to be solved or a decision that has to be made.

Usually, here, you will write down the objective that you are aiming for or the conclusion that you are satisfied with. 

However, in this step, you will also be met with the hindrances and limitations that the current circumstances have that may make the foreseen end quite challenging. With that said, not only does this need to be addressed it will also be part of the outline of the decision that you would have to make.

The next thing that needs to be done is to weigh your options.

Some choices would have better rewards than others. Some choices are more righteous than others. Some choices have lesser risk in them. 

While some have a combination of these. It all depends on what your goals really are and which one is more important to you. The key here is bringing a balance of risk and rewards, correctness and satisfaction, fulfillment and consequences to the choice you will eventually have to make.

While doing this, it is advisable to keep your emotions in check and be logical and prudent about your choices. You would eventually see and reap the rewards for keeping your emotions out of the equation. But of course, there are times when ethics, morality, and the set of principles you have would be a defining factor in the kind of emotions that you have. When this happens, think and foresee the long-term effects and what kind of reputation would it leave you? Hopefully, we won’t get into these kinds of problems but it's good to think of the good of others and keep our integrity intact. But eventually, it all boils down to what is important to you.

Next, you need to address is making sure you have a fixed span of time to come up with a solution-oriented decision.

You can’t put all the other things hanging in the balance while you are trying to weigh the pros and cons for too long. Set a date and keep the ball rolling. Every decision is also a learning process, that said you can also learn by making a mistake every now and then.

Since decision-making is a skill, it is acquired through practice and experience. No one gets everything right for the first time. There’s beginner's luck but that’s not quantifiable nor can’t be replicated every time that it is needed. So it is best to acquire experience, know-how, and skills then apply them to our decision-making process.

The other thing that you may need to consider is asking for other people’s opinions.

Other people may have the expertise and experience that we currently do not have. We can learn from other people’s mistakes but we can also learn from their acquired experience. This not only shortens the decision-making time frame but would also be a way to see blind spots and options that we have not thought to be relevant to our situation. 

After that, you can create an action plan and set it in motion.

We have to watch closely how and what things are affected by doing this. That way we can replicate it in the future or similar circumstances. There’s no better barometer of how sound a decision could be than by acting on it. All the options, limitations, advantages, and disadvantages have already been considered, so there’s nothing else to do but hope it works out well, and if not you can tweak where it might have been weak.

The last thing that you need to do is to commit to your decisions.

A lot of people do not know that they could have maximized the benefits of the decisions they have made if they have committed to it. For example, if you have quit smoking but could not handle the withdrawals and forgo the decision to quit you're missing out on the health benefits and longevity of life that comes from quitting smoking.

Truly, analyzing a problem and making correct judgments is a difficult process. It involves a lot of thinking, foreseeing results, research, and depending on the size and importance of the decision to make it could be stressful too. That is why a good thinking chair could be a great addition to your office or home office. The Adjustable Ergonomic Leather Office Chair OC8N/OC8B from FlexiSpot may just be the right one for you. It has contoured pillows in both headrest and backrest giving your body the comfort your body needs so your brain won’t be distracted and stay focused. It is ergonomically designed to move quietly and avoid making any tear to your carpet or a scratch on your floors. Please visit the FlexiSpot website now