Ways to make better decisions

In this article you will learn the following

• -12 stages of the life-cycle concept
• -12 steps of taking decisions and solving problems – because every tough-decision that you need to take is actually a problem to be solved
• -14 Barriers to decision-making
• -25+ Ideas to brain-storm to make powerful choices and take great tough decisions - using one of the best decision making tool

Ways to make better decisions - through exploring choices, options, alternatives and possibilities - Propel your life by making better decisions for a fulfilled life.

Take your life as it is today – wherever you are and whatever you have plus whoever you have become - almost inevitably - these are the results of the decision and choices you made and actions you took - in the past.

By the same definition – whatever actions you take today and the decisions you make now - will shape up who you will become and what you will have, in the future.

Let us understand the phenomenon known as life-cycle –it can also be called cause and effect principal or law of karma.

12 stages of the life-cycle concept

• 1.Your life is full of events small and big – these events can be either positive or negative.
• 2.Some of the events that take place in our lives - may not be in our control and without our triggering it in any manner.
• 3.But after an event has taken place in your life – how you react and respond to it - is within your control and will decide the subsequent consequences in long as well as short term of your life.
• 4.After an event has taken place – you have the choice to either treat that as permanent or temporary phase.
• 5.If you treat the negative event as permanent - then you will have negative thoughts.
• 6.You will have hope and positive thoughts - if you treat the negative event as temporary.
• 7.Similarly when we take positive events as permanent - will give fill you with positive thoughts.
• 8.Positive events treated as temporary will give you negative thoughts.
• 9.Our thoughts dictates the type of action that we will take – negative thoughts will make us take the negative actions and positive thoughts will make us take the positive actions - in normal course of things.
• 10. Possibility of positive actions giving negative results and the negative actions giving you positive results - is rare and unlikely at least in long-term.
• 11. Continuous positive actions will always generate - great positive outcomes in your life and the continuous negative actions will have bad impacts.
• 12. Now the law of cycle will take its course - The positive results will create positive thoughts and negative ones in all probability will create negative thoughts.
• 13. Regular positive thoughts and positive actions – will create powerful positive habits and vice versa.
• 14. Positive habits in turn creates strong positive character and a positive character will attract a positive destiny and positive destiny will have positive events in life.

If you take this concept at its face-value - you will notice that - our reacting to positive events as permanent and negative events as temporary - actually can transform our life wonderfully.

I have read about two real life cases – both the persons were born in underprivileged conditions in slums.

One became a hardened and infamous criminal and the other a phenomenally successful person.

Luck maybe – but their recorded past clearly demonstrate the life-cycle working faithfully.

You always have multiple choices to react and respond to any events and situations and happenings in your life.

The great thinking guru Edward de Bono used to challenge people to bring him any problem - in which they feel there is no solution - he would then show them at least 10 alternative options that they could try AND none they realized had existed - he merely brought these out through structured questioning.

With practice all of us can see and identify many options, possibilities and alternatives - in every situation.

The higher the number of tougher-decisions and hard-choices you make – the more successful and accomplished life you will have.

People who take radically different decisions and actions have radically different life.

What is decision making – is it becoming expert in the art of guessing????

Not at all - it finding out what maximum number of possibilities exists in any given situation, problem and issues facing you - and then choosing the best possible combination.

12 steps of taking decisions and solving problems – because every tough-decision that you need to take is actually a problem to be solved - this is the formula that I use when I am stuck and have to take a hard decision

• 1.Understand the problem completely – many times because we do not understand the problem fully and we start taking actions to solve it - as a result we solve the wrong problem and do not get the right results. You have to be able to see the problem from different perspective and different angles to understand it.
• 2.Identify the outcomes you want in specific terms
• 3.Explore what options, alternatives, possibilities – which are in your area of control to be able to implement
• 4.Note down what resources you have and what resources you need
• 5.Make a list of people you can seek help and guidance from
• 6.Now choose the best-combination of many possibilities
• 7.Then implement the chosen model
• 8.Monitor and track your actions
• 9.Improvise in case the initial thought about action is not giving you the result
• 10. Celebrate your success
• 11. Be flexible to change your goal or the modus operandi
• 12. Follow your values to decide certain actions – even if it does not give you immediate gratification.

14 Barriers to decision-making

• 1.Not having the right maturity and exposure
• 2.You are trying take decision when it is beyond your area of influence and control
• 3.Fear of failure
• 4.Fear of unknown
• 5.Overanalyzing
• 6.Information overload - unable to sift and sort and organize and structure the information
• 7.Trying to get all the information - which in any case never happens
• 8.Overthinking and getting
• 9.Our past experience
• 10. Our perception about what can be and how it should be
• 11. You are trying to take decisions – all the while being overwhelmed by the problem
• 12. You are under prepared
• 13. You have neither learned about and understood the situations fully
• 14. We feel TINA - there are no alternatives

25+ Ideas to brain-storm to make powerful choices and take great tough decisions - using one of the best decision making tool - 6 thinking hats by Edward de Bono

• 1.9 basic reasons to use the Blue hat - this is used to facilitate, regulate and manage the thinking and brain-storming process by
• I.Clarifying and freezing the agenda
• II.Fixing the outcomes of each session or meeting
• III.Controlling the time spent on each element while brain-storming
• IV.At the end of each session next step - the way forward is decided
• V.Keeping everyone's focus on the issue
• VI.Ensuring every one gets to give their inputs
• VII.Maintaining discipline
• VIII.Deciding how time to allocate for each hat - for getting the pre-decided outcome
• IX.Crystalize the decision-taken and actions-needed - in SMART way
• 2.7 questions for White hat - is used - to identify - Sticking with facts and figures - focus objectively - on what is absolutely essential
• I.What information is available
• II.What is unknown at this point of time
• III.What information would we like to have?
• IV.What information do we need?
• V.What information is missing?
• VI.What type of information is disputed and not clear
• VII.The degree, type and amount of information needed - to enable us to take the action
• 3.Red hat - gut-feelings, sixth-sense and intuition - this hat is used in dire-emergencies and by the top leadership where the buck-stops.
• i.This is used when decision has to be taken - irrespective of the data and information available - in cases only ambiguousness and complexity rules
• 4.6 reason to use Black hat - this is about - challenging all the solutions proposed to exercise due-diligence for identifying all the challenges, difficulties and problems and risks and other negative consequence
• I.For identifying all the weak points in the ideas shortlisted
• II.For finding all the negatives of alternatives suggested
• III.Creating solutions to mitigate the weakness of the idea
• IV.Identifying the down sides and negative consequences of the ideas that are weak
• V.For assessing decision by revisiting and challenging the assumptions
• VI.Identifying why an alternative suggested is not right to go ahead
• 5.5 reasons to use Yellow hat - this is about identifying why - the solutions short-listed - would work AND also to know the positives, the benefits, the advantages and feasibility
• I.Positives about the idea
• II.Alternative ideas
• III.Solutions for challenges raised by reality check
• IV.Identifying the benefits of the ideas identified
• V.What is the applicability and the suitability for the alternative ideas identified
• VI.All reasoning has to be backed with logical and actionable and verifiable rationale.

6.7 reasons to use Green hat - this is the - creative and innovative phase of decision-making - where thinking freely, disruptively, radically-different, challenging assumptions and perceptions

• I.To come out with various new ideas and solutions, further alternatives,other ways, possibilities
• II.And how can we make all that we have decided - execute, implement and make it work - and how can we overcome the challenges and obstacles
• III.Improving and building on all the ideas listed
• IV.Identifying all the possible alternatives
• V.Creating solutions for all the down-sides of the ideas brain-stormed
• VI.Create as many alternatives as possible
• VII.This phase does not have logic - this is the time when your imagination has to run wild.

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