Recently my husband and I were exploring the shops and waterfront of an island we like to visit. It was an overcast day with the sun peeking through; the perfect weather combination to splurge and get ice cream. (You know, warm enough to enjoy eating something cold with enough cloud cover that the ice cream won’t melt so fast that it drips down your hand!)
As my husband stood in line, enthusiastically eyeing the board with 40 flavor choices, I opted to walk down the street and get a mocha; feeling successful that I'd narrowed my decision making down to whip cream or not… By the time I got back, he was still vacillating between flavor choices. (Have you noticed too that the number of choices times the length of wait time equals harder the decision?)
Whether big or small, we all can identify with wanting to make decisions that will benefit us the most.
For some of our bigger, potentially more consequential decisions in life we often rely on a family member, a trusted friend, experts in the field or (more often than I like to admit) our friend, Google.
Chart of Pros and Cons
After you have consulted your sources, then you may be inclined to create a chart of Pros (the advantages or benefits of your decision) and Cons (the disadvantages of potentially undesirable outcomes of the decision).
I have found making a Pros and Cons chart in the past has for me, for the most part, been beneficial for helping to make a big decision. However, sometimes I find that the Pros and Cons between choice A or B can feel equally weighted. (That is when I usually will cycle back to asking important people in my life for their input on my Pros and Cons list.)
Getting help from sources outside yourself as well as making a Pro and Con chart is a good strategy. Maybe you have found it very effective for most of your decisions. If by chance, you have come up against a decision and you are still struggling to decide between A, B or even C, then here is an additional strategy to try.
A Different Strategy…SWOT
Businesses have been using SWOT for years as a way to assess the current state of their company. SWOT stands for: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. A company might choose to do a SWOT analysis before trying a new strategy or changing direction. The goal is to bring awareness to the potential next step by understanding what is lacking and eliminating potential hazards.
I have personally found success using SWOT in both business and the nonprofit world. So I thought why not use this good tool for personal decision making? I’ve changed up the SWOT questions a bit to be more applicable for you to try the next time you have a bigger sized decision to make.
SWOT Questions
Strengths- What personal strengths can I bring to this choice? How does this choice best utilize my strengths?
Weaknesses- If I make this choice, what areas of weakness will I need to improve upon? Are there resources I may be lacking for this choice? Can I get access to those resources?
Opportunity- What new opportunities will this choice bring to me? Any opportunities I’ll be missing out on if I make this choice?
Threat- What internal (myself) factors may potentially threaten this choice? What external (others, circumstances) factors may potentially threaten this choice?
And, an add on… On a scale of 1-5 (putting fear aside) how excited am I about this choice?
Decision making, big or small need not be scary, confusing or lead you to catastrophize what might happen if you make the “wrong” decision. Be thoughtful and wise by using some or all of the tools listed above and create a successful decision-making process for yourself!
Curious to find out if coaching is right for you? Contact Carol for a complimentary 20-minute session.
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