Decision making
We make decisions all the time:
What shall we buy?
What shall we wear or eat?
With whom shall we be friends?
What school shall we go to?
Some decisions are easier to make than others.
In making a decision…
Get as much information as possible
Seek expert advice
Check out your ideas and feelings with a friend or family member
Talk to someone independent (such as a teacher, counsellor, Youthline).
From their responses you will get an overview of the issues:
What things you need to consider
Different views
Consult with others as much as possible, take time to make important decisions.
Self reflection is an important part of making important decisions. Some questions you can ask yourself are:
Values: What do I value most?
Ambitions: What do you want for yourself
You can also
Think about the outcome you want for yourself - How do you want things to be?
Visualise the problem being solved – how does it look?
Looking at options
1. Identify the concern or problem. Work out exactly what the problem is.
2. What are all the possible decisions? Brainstorm choices - what has worked for you in the past?
3. List the good points for each
4. List the bad points for each
5. What is the likely result from each choice?
6. What is the best option?
If it’s difficult to decide…
Leave it for a while
Do something else
Sleep on it
Allow time for the decision to come to you
Decisions are not made until some action is taken - talk about it!!!