Have you ever met someone who seems to be good at making decisions?
It can seem that they are just good at this skill, but for many, weighing up the pros and cons of a scenario and coming to a solution that works best is a skill that is learned over time.
So, you may be wondering if this is a skill that can be learned gradually, helping you to learn how to make the best choices without upsetting people. Yes, it can, and here, you will be shown how to do just that!
Build a Habit of Slowing Down Your Thinking
A lot of poor decisions happen because someone acted too quickly and based on emotion rather than logic.
Whether you are trying to play online pokies or assess how much money you can spend on a car, you need to think slowly and calmly before coming to a decision. By simply training yourself to pause, take a breath, and think analytically, you will be more likely to have a better long-term outcome in most scenarios.
Strengthen Working Memory and Cognitive Flexibility
Your cognitive capacity, which is also known as the window of tolerance, influences your decision-making ability. It has been found that if you use training tasks that strengthen your memory and your cognitive flexibility, you can improve your ability to juggle information. This will enable you to change perspectives and to better look at alternatives.
In short, it can be worth looking into learning chess, or even learning a new language, as these skills help to promote mental adaptability, without real-world pressure. Also, you get to learn some cool new skills by proxy, which is always a good thing!
Practice Decisions in Low-Risk Environments
Imagine if someone took a small child who loved football, put them on the pitch during the World Cup, and expected them to play. Chances are, they wouldn’t do too well! Just as footballers improve through practice in safe environments or training in simulations, you can practice making decisions in low-risk settings. This can help you to rehearse potential judgment calls, with no real-world consequences.
You can even do this mentally, by practicing “what if” scenarios and trying to ascertain the best solution. If you do this each day, patterns will emerge, helping you to be in a psychological mindset to make better choices.
Regulate Stress and Emotions
Stress and overwhelming emotions can impair rational thought, and therefore, they can have a detrimental impact on decision-making. Thus, if you want to think like a footballer or other professional athlete, you need to learn ways to better manage your emotions to prevent them from getting too high. This is easily accomplished for most people by meditation, mindfulness, controlled breathing, and positive self-talk. All of these have been found to help with better decision-making abilities.
Remember, much like learning to dribble a ball, getting better at decision-making will take time, but with some discipline and potentially some professional help, you will find making decisions easier and will feel more confident in your choices.
