Motivation Monday: Tough Decisions

Favorite pastime: blogging & sipping wine

Have you had to make a difficult decision lately? Or anticipate a touch decision on the horizon? Here are four easy, tangible steps in making a life changing decision.

1. Be well rested. You should never make a major life or career decision tired or mentally drained.  If you’re running on limited sleep, make sure to get some shut-eye before contemplating the big ticket items.
2. Fuel up. In the same vein as lack of sleep, hunger also affects your ability to make a decision - at least a smart decision. Same goes for a bad diet. It's suggested to maintain a balanced diet with a variety of lean meats, veggies, some fruits and healthy fats. What you choose to put in your belly can go a long way in combating decision-making fatigue.
3. Morning time: Studies suggest that you are better prepared to make tough decisions in the morning hours. Simply stated - as you get further into the day, you are faced with more decisions. So, it's preferable to make your big decisions early on while your brain is still fresh. With that said, you will be forced to make decisions later in the day. So what do you do? One way is to prepare for contingencies. Check out this example. President Obama makes sure that there are only two suits in his closet - a blue and a grey one. Less choices for him to make early morning. Obama is required to make important decisions all day, every day and of course he can’t schedule when emergencies happen. So by limiting his choices for mundane tasks - like selecting his suit - he is saving energy for the important decisions.
4. Self reflect: Ask yourself, “Is this decision one that I feel strongly about or is it one that I feel I 'should' make because of family, co-workers, peers or societal pressure?” Everyone is capable of being overly influenced by others and outside factors. It is important to understand where and how said influences are affecting your perspective. It's okay to receive guidance about a decision but you need to be cognizant and ensure your choices are to make you happy. Not others. 

See - simple ways to make any decision easier. If you have a decision to make in the near future, I encourage you to follow these manageable steps. And best of luck!