A Psychology-backed Guide to Decision-Making

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood…And be one traveller, long I stood, wrote American poet Robert Frost. Often we are at a crossroads and our lives depend on which path we choose. It is normal to become anxious during such situations. Decision-making is a complex process and can have far-reaching impacts on a person’s life, hence it is crucial to be crystal-clear and weigh all options while making a complex decision.

If you are someone who dithers while making complex decisions and tends to avoid situations where you are in a position that requires choosing between various alternatives, here’s your four-step psychology- backed guide to decision-making. Keep these tips in mind the next time you are faced with a difficult choice.

Read More: 10 Subtle Signs You Are Excellent in Decision-making, According to Psychology

Keep an eye on the future

The reason making decisions seem hard is because of the impacts it can have on the near future as well as the distant future. It is important to wisely evaluate how the decision is going to affect your future. Four ways in which you can do this are:

• The “10/10/10 Rule”: It is a proven science-baked framework to reduce impulsive decisions by making you evaluate decisions based on how you will feel about a said decision in 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years. It is based on the principle that thinking about the future can lead to better decisions.
• “Premortem” Analysis: A technique that allows you to anticipate potential problems and plan strategies to avoid them. Imagine a
  decision has failed and work backwards to identify possible reasons for the failure. Studies have shown that this method improves prediction accuracy and enhances decision-making.
• Regret Minimization Framework: This strategy popularised by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos prompts one to imagine themself at the end of their
  life and consider which decision would minimise regret. Choosing long-term fulfilment over short-term convenience or fear leads to choices you’ll be proud of in the long run.
• Decision Trees: Draw a tree with each branch representing a probable decision, and further branches representing potential outcomes and consequences. This will allow you to visualise the far-reaching effects of the choices you are faced with and help you make more informed decisions with future implications in mind.

Read More: The Psychology Behind Success-Oriented Mindset

Weigh all your options

The sheer number of options provided while making a decision can send someone spiralling and make the process excruciating. Hence, it is important to weigh each option using specific criteria. Two ways to do that are:

• Using “Pros and Cons” Lists with Weighting: A time-honoured method of listing the advantages and disadvantages of each option, but with assigned importance weights can prove handy while faced with a barrage of choices. It can give a clearer picture of which factors matter most. This method quantifies and compares different outcomes and hence proves effective.
• Limiting Your Options: This involves reducing the number of choices you need to make as you may feel paralysed and unsatisfied if there are too many choices available. This lies in the core of research on “the paradox of choice,” a concept that suggests having too many options can lead to less satisfaction with the decisions we make. It was introduced by American psychologist Barry Schwartz in his 2004 book The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less.

Head vs. Heart

“Heart choices” speak to your soul and meet a need or longing, while “head choices” are logical and make sense on paper. Following all the options discussed above will put precedent to logic. But completely shutting off our emotions while making decisions with high stakes isn’t the smartest way to do it. Using emotions intelligently during the decision-making process can help you make smart and sound decisions. However, this doesn’t mean getting swayed by emotions and making rash decisions.

Read More: 7 Characteristics of Emotionally Intelligent People, According to Psychology

In the words of Sigmund Freud “When making a decision of minor importance, I have always found it advantageous to consider all the pros and cons. In vital matters, however, such as the choice of a mate or a profession, the decision should come from the unconscious, from somewhere within ourselves. In the important decisions of personal life, we should be governed, I think, by the deep inner needs of our nature.”

More recently, the ‘somatic marker hypothesis’ proposed by neurologist Antonio Damasio showed that people’s gut feelings (their bodily-based reactions to different options) often advantageously inform their decision-making before they are consciously aware of the reasons for those feelings. These illustrate the effect emotions hold over decision-making. They are mostly dismissed but if listened to and analysed they can provide interesting insights into our personality and needs, and aid the decision-making process.

Seek input from others

Encourage input from a variety of viewpoints, especially from those around you who will be affected by the decision. Diverse perspectives are proven to lead to better decisions. Other people may see pitfalls in your reasoning and possible consequences that you may have missed due to cognitive biases. It might introduce new ideas you might not have considered.

Now that you’ve read through the list of tried and tested techniques to ace decision-making, make sure to implement them and practice them in your daily life. Remember, that making an important decision where the stakes are high might seem daunting but with patience and thorough contemplation you can make the most effective choice.