Making Decisions in Life With So Many Choices
Making decisions in life can be one of the hardest things we do. With so many choices these days, from which cereal, car, career path or digital camera to purchase, it’s become often too difficult and overwhelming to choose the right one. The one that’s right for you. Decisions often crop up when you are on a search for your destiny.
Big decisions in life are often the most difficult and cause anxiety.
We hesitate. We second guess ourselves and choose left when in retrospect, we should have gone right.
We ignore our intuition and try to think intellectually. This is when we get off course.
We take a sharp right; make a few mistakes along the road of self-doubt. We hit reverse, back up and move more cautiously on the next trip.
We choose one place to live over another.
We pick one lover over the next.
We select one career over another, one college over another, one adoption agency over the next and hope for the best. When you don’t feel calm and confident when making those important decisions, it’s an indicator that we are not paying attention to our intuition, or inner GPS.
Decisions can alter the course of your life. Are you making mediocre choices or smart, insightful ones?
Making Decisions in Life Requires an Inner GPS
Oprah put it best when she said, “Before you agree to do anything that might add even the smallest amount of stress to your life, ask yourself: What is my truest intention? Give yourself time to let a yes resound within you. When its right, I guarantee your entire body will feel it.”
This is profoundly true.
There are many ways of making decisions in life. With the dozens of opportunities for right vs. wrong that lay before us, day in and day out, it’s important to ask yourself: what kind of decision maker are you? Are you an intuitive thinker or an intellectual one?
Do you often hesitate on the road of life? Do you come to a full stop or speed through the red light? Do you drive recklessly or adhere to the street signs? Do you park on the side of the road until the storm has passed or brave it, on the wide open road and go where you may, leaning on your GPS to guide you there without a hitch? Do you rely on your inner GPS to guide you to your destination? What happened when you didn’t? These are questions you should ask yourself.
When you need to make a difficult decision in life, write down your choices. Pay attention to how you feel when you decide on one choice or the other. If you feel rising anxiety when you focus on one of your options, that’s a clear sign to be cautious. If you have a sense of contentment and peace on your decision, then your intuition is pointing you in the right direction.
Making Decisions in Life Improve with Your Gut Response
Your ‘gut’ is that feeling deep within that is all-knowing. It doesn’t misguide you. It doesn’t get you lost. It doesn’t require your brain’s input.
It often seems irrational but it’s always right. It’s in the best interest of you, the path you’re walking, what feels good and what doesn’t. If you’re feeling doubtful about that book deal you’re about to sign because something just doesn’t feel quite right, or you’re plagued with an unmistakable fear about that first date you’re about to go on, STOP AND LISTEN. Something inside is trying to get your attention and shouting no for some unexplainable reason. Your ‘gut’ or intuition is what you can rely on, to keep you safe and out of harm’s way. That inside ‘voice’ is there for the greater good of your life.
Here’s a little tip for impeccable decision making – listen to your gut and instincts and you’ll always choose the right road for your destination.
Forgive the ‘Bad Choices of Your Past
Your past is your past. In it you’ve may have made some foolish mistakes. You’ve trusted a best friend who ended up betraying you. You married someone who didn’t give you the respect you deserved. You lived, you loved and you learned. ‘Bad’ mistakes aren’t actually bad at all – they’re often our greatest, most profound teachers who guide us to make better choices for the future. Those are lessons learnt and we all must go through lessons.
If you’re analyzing today’s choices, sit still for a moment without thinking. As thoughts pop into your head, quietly thank them for appearing, and replace them with silence. Breathe in, and breathe out. Focus on the roaring waves of the ocean, and as they become calmer until they aren’t anything more than a small ripple, concentrate on the decision you have to make. If you say yes to that deal, that new client, that home you are contemplating on purchasing, how does your body feel? Is there a slight twinge of discomfort in your stomach or is there calmness? However your gut reacts is your answer.
Listen to your gut.
Respond accordingly.
And, as a result, you will drive easily on the journey of life with the wide, open road (gridlock free!) in front of you.
This is a great quote to think about when you are making decisions in life; Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions. ~Author Unknown
Making decisions in life doesn’t have to be hard, especially when you listen to your gut response and intuition; they are always right.
© 2012, Linda. All rights reserved.
Getting over your past is sometimes really tough to do especially for major things that happened in your past.
Learning how to go with your gut and not second guessing it is really hard to do sometimes but I guess I will need to try it more and see what happens.
I usually emphasize the importance of positive thoughts to my students. Society always love to flood you with negative thoughts and destructive criticisms, because it is so easy to do, and our Internet today is piled with all this nonsense. I do believe that only when you truly believe in yourself, you can unleash your fullest potential and have the courage to realize your dreams.
Sometimes it is hard to trust your instincts, because you can mistake that for fear but I am realizing that is not the case and learning the difference as well.
It has taken a while for me to figure out that your inner instincts never lie. Sometimes yes, fear gets into the way of you taking a chance on things. But you will also learn to know the difference between “yikes this is out of my comfort zone” and “no no no don’t do it!!! don’t!!”.