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If you do not make a choice, it means you have made a choice!’
From the moment one wakes up until the end of the day, a person makes thousands of decisions. Some of the decisions are critical, others are not. Some decisions have short term impact and other have long term influence. The bottom line is, better decision making can improve our lives and make things better.
Everyone would expect people who are consistently unsuccessful to have learned from their mistakes and be more careful in decision making. But you will be surprised how untrue this is. I have met such people. On the contrary successful people are very careful when making decisions, after all that’s why they are successful.
How do you make your decisions?
Here are six points that can make your life easier when making better decisions:

1. What Do You Want? What Is Your Goal? Check you motives and your conscience. Know yourself and your decision. If you don’t know what you want and you don’t understand the reason for making your decision, it’s not going to go well.
2. Gather Some Information. Find information about the processes and the outcomes. Learn from others. Find someone who has successfully made the decision, and ask them how they went about it. Ask a lot questions as you seek their opinion and listen to their experience. If the person giving you ‘advice’ stands to benefit from your positive choice, it means that the so called ‘advice’ may not the real truth but the person’s interest. Seek a second opinion from an independent source or person.
3. Identify The Possible Alternatives And Evaluate Them. As you reflect on the alternatives ask yourself ‘Does this option reflect my values and what I stand for?’ Determine the worst-case scenario for each option and the remedial actions that may be require of things goes wrong. Work out the short term and long term effect of each option.
4. Take Time. Never Be Hurried Into A Decision. If possible do as I do, sleep on it. Let your emotions cool down before making the final choice. Pray about it. Leaving your intuition alone to work on a problem after feeding it properly is the most valuable tool for making hard decisions.
5. Select The Best Alternative After First Ranking Them On Order Of The Best Option To The Worst. Remember no matter how brilliant your plan A is, if things don’t go well you will go to plan B. So make sure your plan B is perfect and sound, ready to be kicked on. You do not want to fall on something that cannot hold you. This is what separates the winners and the losers. Successful people always have a great plan B, because most often it is the one that eventually delivers.
6. Do It! Execute The Decision As Planned. As you go, evaluate the results and make amendments to the plan to redirect the course to avoid drifting or to increase output. Remember that there is not perfect plan. Results also depend on how you execute the plan.

Better to make a bad decision quickly than none at all.
You have the choice
Yes, you have the choice. You control your life, not your past, not your environment or your family. Do not choose to be an average. Choose to be brilliant. Economic or social or political challenges always come and go, since Bible times, but in every season there are always a few people who shine above the rest. Choose to be one of the few.
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