We are faced with many decisions every day. It is essential to effectively make them in order to be successful and happy. The right decision did not just happen by accident. Improving the choices we make is a process.
Each day, our lives are full with a constant flow of decisions. Some are small ones such as what kind of food to eat or which route to take home. While others are bigger and more difficult like deciding which job offer to take or whether it will be beneficial for you to move to another city or not. With all these decisions taking our minds each day, learning which ones to prioritize and make them effective is important. Here are some strategies smart people consider in making sound decisions.
1. Smart people pay attention to their emotions
It is true what they say that one should not make any permanent decisions when they are emotional. Smart and successful people understand their emotions and recognize this concept so they are able to objectify decisions and make it as rational as possible.
2. Smart people make huge decisions in the morning
One of the best ways to beat decision fatigue is to make little decisions after work and tackle more difficult and complex ones in the morning. A perfect trick to do when you are faced with a wide range of important decisions is to wake up early and work on your most difficult tasks before you do some of the smaller things you need to do the night before.
3. Smart people sleep on decisions
To ensure your thoughts are cleared, sleep on your decisions and approach it the next day. It will also provide you to cool down your emotions. You will tend to react when you act immediately instead of gaining more focus and time to your decisions. In addition, you will also discover some essential sides of it that you did not see beforehand.
4. Smart people exercise to recharge
When stress hits due to a major decision, your body will naturally produce cortisol, which is the chemical that causes the fight or flight response. Try to exercise if you see yourself battling with a decision. You can do as little as 30 minutes of cardio to get those endorphins out to clarify your mind. In addition, exercise will aid you to get past the fight or flight stage by placing the cortisol to practical use. Study has shown that exercising regularly can improve the overall functioning of our brain regions that are responsible in making decisions.
5. Smart people reflect on previous decisions
According to Mark Twain, “Good decisions come from experience, but experience comes from making bad decisions.” However, this does not mean that in order to be a good decision maker, you have to create a lot of mistakes. It simply means that it is vital for you to keep decisions in the past as a guideline. Smart and successful people are aware of the decisions they’ve made in the past and on how to take advantage of them when something similar happens again.