Decision Making - Do Not Forget the Follow Through!

If someone chooses to participate in life, there will be choices to make along the way. Which mate, job, car, house, etc. should I choose? Decision making and following through are an important part of living. Life is not what happens to me - it's the decisions I make.

Pro's and Con's

The most common tool for decision making is the pro and con list. Ok, you have made the list and one side far outweighs the other; are you satisfied? Probably not. Why? The list may be factual but it is not satisfying. Oh yes, the list supplies what is needed, however, to gratify (meaning giving pleasure) there needs to be additional information.

Options, actions and consequences

Let me give you another tool that not only satisfies but pleases. Regarding a decision to be made, list all of the options; even list the bizarre options. Now list the actions required for each option. This will eliminate most of the bizarre options. Then, most importantly, list the consequences of all the options! Pick the consequences you can live with and when this is done completely there is a satisfaction and a sense of relief. Let me give a simple (hypothetical) example:

Options:

Ruth invited me to lunch in another town.
Jane invited me to lunch in my town.
I can accept neither offer.

Actions:

To lunch with Ruth, I must dress up, drive 40 miles and be "nice".
To lunch with Jane, I can dress casually, be there in 15 minutes and have a great time being myself.
To accept no offer - I must cook at home.

Consequences:

To lunch with Ruth would be a pain!
To lunch with Jane would be fun!
To accept neither offer would be stupid!

Follow through

Have you ever heard about the three frogs sitting on the lily pad? One frog decides to jump in the water. How many frogs are left on the pad? Three. The one frog just decided to jump; he did not follow through with the action. The person who makes decisions without follow through is like a sail boat with no rudder. The sail may be up but with no rudder the boat is at the mercy of the prevailing winds. People like this are constantly "following" others and usually follow in a bad direction. Having made the decision.....follow through!

I call Ruth and decline the invitation, requesting she let me know when she is going to be in town. I call Jane and accept her offer, letting her know I look forward to seeing her. The third option is bizarre and not a choice.

Counsel

It is wise to have an opinion from a trusted friend or mentor regarding major decisions. Someone not emotionally or financially involved can see clearly. This application works well in business decisions and business men and women should use it especially on cost effectiveness with any long term or major expenditures.

I have used this tool for a lot of years - both in my personal decisions (as simple as what to cook for dinner) and in business decisions (as major as equipment purchases) and it has served me well. Once the consequences are acknowledged, there is no difficulty in following through with the actions. The biggest satisfaction comes from knowing - I can do this!