5 Rules to Help You Make the Next Important Decision in Your Life

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If you’ve ever had to face making an essential decision in your life, you know how challenging that is.

You want to take the right decision, but what if you don’t know what’s actually right?

You feel overwhelmed. You’re panicking and sweating because you know you need to make that decision but, no matter how long you ruminate, you always get back to the starting point.

With this 5-step guide, I want to help you make the next important decision! (So that you won’t regret it for the rest of your life)

Are you ready to get the answer you’ve been desperately searching for? Then, let’s get started!

1. PROs vs CONs

One of the best methods to ensure you take the right decision is to outweigh the pros and cons.

It’s a simple and old-school tactic – yet, how many times have you done it when facing an important decision?

Exactly.

So, I want you to take out a blank sheet and a pen and divide your paper into two columns of equal width.

On the left, write “Pros”. On the right, write “Cons”.

Now, don’t overthink it too much, and just write everything that comes to your mind. Even the most “insignificant” and small details!

Once you’ve dumped all of your thoughts on paper, I want you to fold your page and simply…go away.

Go do something else!

Do everything you want to do, and don’t think about your decision at all. AT ALL!

After you’ve spent a couple of hours – or even days – letting your mind wander, I want you to take back the list of pros and cons and see if there’s anything else that you feel like adding.

If you think your list is good to go, then it’s time to outweigh all the points.

Obviously, not everything you’ve written has the same weight – so you must take that into account before making your decision.

Set a range of importance that your points have:

• the pros could range from + to +++, the latter being extremely important and having a more considerable weight on your decision-making process;
• do the same with your cons, ranging them from – to —

Now, if you think you’re ready to make that decision, then go for it! Otherwise, stay tuned to find out the other 4 steps that will help you get more clarity on your situation.

📌 SHORT ON TIME? PIN IT FOR LATER! 📌

2. VENT OUT TO SOMEONE

I’ve learned this to my expenses: if you keep everything to yourself and bottle up your thoughts and feelings, at some point the pressure will be too much and you’ll explode.

But you don’t have to do like I did (too) many times in the past.

You don’t have to wait until you reach your breaking point to let go of some pressure.

If you struggle to ask for help or to open up with people…I get it. I struggle too.

But here are some things that I want you always to remember:

• You’re not a burden to others when you vent out to them
• The people in your life who loves you are more than happy to listen to you, give you advice or support, or whatever you may need
• Showing your vulnerability doesn’t make you weak
• You’re not alone in this…(whatever this is, and no matter how lonely you might be feeling)
• You might not have the solution right after talking to someone, but you will surely feel a little bit better

The most toxic thing you could do is to distance yourself from the people in your life.

If you’re going through a difficult period, or if you’re about to make a major decision in your life, it’s important that you talk to someone.

It will help you get a better perspective and understanding of your matter.

It will make you feel less lonely.

And it will make you feel better. Trust me.

So now, do yourself a favor and reach out to someone you love and who loves you.

The people that are in your life – and I’m 100% confident of what I’m about to say – only want the best for you.

3. GET AN EXTERNAL PERSPECTIVE

Not only venting out to someone will give you a clearer perspective on your matter, but also look at your situation with a fresh, new, and external perspective.

How can you do that?

Well, think of it this way: if this situation wasn’t happening to you, but to your best friend, what would you tell her?

Oftentimes we get so caught up in our own feelings, excuses, and narratives that it gets hard to see things for what they really are.

I mean, I’m sure you already know how easy it is to give someone else advice, but then fail to apply the same to your own life.

So what can you do to avoid making impulsive and irrational decisions?

Create a fictional character!

Basically, create an alter ego for yourself!

That will allow you to distance yourself from the matter and take a more rational and ponderate decision that’s not dictated only by your feelings.

So yeah, it’s not you who has to decide whether to accept that high-paying job offer but with an unbearable boss. It’s Jennifer’s problem! What’s your advice to her?

It’s not you who has to decide whether to take a gap year or go straight to college. It’s your long-time no-see friend Allison! What should Allison do?

And no, you’re not the one considering breaking up with your manipulating partner; it’s Eleonor’s partner who’s like that! So what would you tell your friend, Eleonor?

Once you stop sympathizing with your problems, it gets easier to know what to do.

4. JOURNAL ABOUT IT

Another great technique that can help you free some space on your mind and make a wiser decision is to journal it all out.

Once you see it all written down on paper, your non-sense thoughts suddenly start to…make sense. Am I right?

So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed and don’t know what to decide, I want you to take out your notebook or journal and simply let it all out.

Journal it all out. Start giving a sense to what doesn’t make sense in your head.

If you need some inspiration to let the words pour into the paper like a river, here are some thought-provoking questions that will help you get a clearer perspective on whatever the matter is:

• Take an impulsive decision. What’s your first reaction to that decision?
• How do you imagine the outcomes of both decisions?
• List your 3-5 core values.
• How does either decision respect and reflect on your core values, at this stage of your life?
• If you couldn’t fail and others’ opinions didn’t matter, what would you do?
• It’s the end of your life. Which decisions would you regret the most not going for?

Those are some harsh and straight-to-the-point questions; but hopefully, they will serve their purpose of helping you taking that important decision.

RELATED: Grab my FREE 30-Day Journaling Prompts for Self-Discovery! ⬇️

5. TRUST YOUR GUT

Last but not least, don’t underestimate the power of your intuition.

No wonder, but our stomach is considered as ‘the second brain’.

The science behind trusting our gut is widely known. Yet, why do so many people fail at trusting their intuition?

Often, people tend to confuse trusting one’s intuition with taking impulsive – and therefore irresponsible – decisions.

But, it isn’t (always) like that!

The sensations you might be experiencing before and while making a decision are all signals that your body uses to communicate with you.

So, if you’re about to make a life-changing decision, and something doesn’t just feel right with you…do yourself a favor: listen to your intuition!

Your body and subconscious know way better than your conscious mind does.

PS. Don’t take fear as “No, this ain’t right” either. It’s normal to be fearful when saying ‘yes’ to change. But, once again, even if you think you don’t know it…deep down you know if you’re only scared of doing something, or if you don’t want to do it at all!

Listen to yourself.

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What do you do when having to take a life-changing decision? And what decision are you struggling to take at this point in your life?

I’d love to hear your thoughts (and give you advice) in the comments below!

Until next time,

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