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10 Ways to Reduce
the Stress of Decision-Making
Sound
familiar?:
Do you lie awake at night thinking about the pros and cons of a
decision you need to make or second guessing a decision you’ve
already made ?
Do you ask people around you for advice and then think of a dozen
reasons not to follow the advice?
Do you postpone decisions for days, weeks or longer by coming up with
excuses for not taking action now?
Stress of
Decision-Making:
If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, it may
be because you find decision-making stressful. Well, you’re not alone. Most people rate decision-making as
one of the most stressful parts of their lives, right behind public
speaking and dental work.
Reduce
the Stress of Decision-Making:
#1. Get all the pertinent information you can. If a job offer means
relocation, visit the new location for two or three days to check out
the area, housing market, schools, commute. Thinking of outsourcing your
payroll system? Get quotes on
extra fees to add or remove from the payroll, pay bonuses, etc. The more you know about your options
the more confident you’ll feel about making a decision you can
live with.
#2. Get input from others who may be affected by your
decision. Ask your spouse
about whether you should become President of the PTA or the Chamber
of Commerce. Ask your kids
whether they’d rather go skiing or snorkeling on the next
family vacation. Ask
co-workers their preferences for a new work schedule. Getting their buy-in optimizes the
success of the outcome.
#3. Make a tentative decision and try it on for size. If you’re contemplating
going back to school to finish a degree or make a career change,
enroll in just one course to see how it feels to be a student again,
how well baby sitting arrangements work out or how you feel missing
the Little League championship game on the night when you have a
final exam.
#4. Remember that most decisions are not life and death
issues---they’re reversible.
You can always leave a new job, sell your “not so
dream house” or let your natural color grow back after you
discover that you’re not having more fun as a blonde.
#5. For life’s “big moves” like getting
divorced or quitting your job to work for yourself seek the advice of
a professional to help clarify your thinking. You may get a whole new perspective
from a neutral third party.
This might be the time to seek the counsel of a doctor,
lawyer, clergyman or therapist with experience dealing with the type
of dilemma you’re facing.
#6. You may not totally control the outcome of a decision, but
you can control the decision-making process. Many factors external to
yourself can impact the consequences of your decision; however, by
identifying your wants and needs and the pros & cons of
alternatives, you can improve the odds the decision will work out
well for you.
#7. Rank your wants and needs.
Be realistic about the difference between a want that
“would be nice” and a need that is “a
must”. If you spot
contradictory needs, ask yourself “Which would I choose if I
could have only one?”
For example, if you’re changing jobs, which is more
important: salary or creative freedom? Buying a new house, which do you
want more: larger space or a
shorter commute?
#8. Be honest with yourself about how much risk you’re
willing to assume. Are you
more comfortable with the safest alternative or the most desirable
alternative despite the risk factor?
This approach is particularly useful with decisions involving
job security and financial investment such as the decision to quit
your job and work for yourself.
#9. Eliminate any option that might present a loss you
aren’t willing to live with.
You might decide against going into business with your
best friend because you’re not willing to risk the friendship.
#10. Picture how you would deal with the negative consequences of
each option being considered. If
you’re prepared for the downside of a decision, you’ll
feel more secure about assuming the inherent risks in the option you
choose.
A
Final Word:
If you follow steps #1-10 and still can’t decide try this: List the key pros & cons for
your top two options; circle the most important pro & con for each;
then decide which circled item trumps all the others. Still can’t decide? Okay, take two circled items and
decide which is more important; then take each remaining circled item
and slot it against those two.
The item which tops the list is your decision-maker.
“Two roads
diverged in a wood, and I, I took the road less traveled by, and that
has made all the difference.”
Robert
Frost
