2 Simple Ways To Feel More Confident With Your Decisions

“Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you”
—John C. Maxwell

In the world we live in, it’s easy to doubt yourself at every turn. But trust us, you’re more than capable of making decisions confidently and simply. With these two tips and tricks you can turn your confidence on its head, boost your emotional wellbeing, and embrace any situation or choice into your comfort zone.

1. Organize your thoughts

Overthinking decisions can be testament to a scattered mind, where thoughts aren’t clear, and conclusions can’t be seen. But there are a few ways to have a more transparent thought process and an organized mind. Try these simple steps to making a confident decision:

1. Pros and cons: Take a pen and paper or digital notes and write a list of the pros and cons of what you are debating. Do not stray too far away from the impacts on you; chances are, you aren’t making a world-changing choice here so no need to over think it.
2. Ask questions: Once you have your pros and cons listed, you might have a few questions. The beauty of today is that you can do research at a touch of a finger; text, Google or call whoever you need to ask. The golden rule here is: don’t be afraid to ask a question to anyone; if your question is easy to answer, great! And if your question is tricky to answer, the person will most definitely help you out.
3. Visualization: Once you have your pros, cons and questions answered, you’ll start forming an idea of what your decision will be. Here is when you will need to focus on a few of your potential choices and visualize them. Close your eyes, take slow breaths and visualize yourself in a reality where you have made your choice. You will quickly have an idea of whether this is something you want or not.
4. Stay calm: One of the most efficient ways to make a quick decision with confidence is to stay calm. A frantic mind can make rash choices that might not be right for you. If you need to, take 5-10 minutes to practice some calm breathing to refocus.
5. Take action: Finally, you will need to action your choice. This can be harder for some, as taking the plunge means you’re going to face reality. But ask yourself “when did you last fail?”, “what’s the worst that can happen?”, and you’ll quickly realize that your choice will most certainly be fine. And if it doesn’t bring you the visualization you imagined earlier, you can always action an alternative option down the line. When something doesn’t work out, it doesn’t mean you have failed, it just means that you’re on a slightly different path.

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2. Trust yourself

We live in a world that is saturated with information and opinions. For many it can be easy to overthink decisions and doubt ourselves and our reality. By practicing a few daily actions, we can learn to trust ourselves and ultimately make decisions with confidence and ease.

Positive affirmations: Repeating affirmations every day can help you acknowledge your self-worth and give you a positive frame of mind to make confident decisions. We recommend practicing your positive affirmations first thing in the morning, while you’re waking up. Perhaps set yourself up in a comfy nook in your home and repeat your daily affirmation to yourself, followed by a meditation session. This should set you up for a day of easy decision making and a feeling of control and calm.

Comparing yourself to others: With the ‘always on’ social media platforms, it can be hard to look at others and see the differences between yourself and them. To combat this constant comparing to others, try to remember that these platforms are carefully curated to show you only the best views of someone’s life. If you struggle to remember this, perhaps ground yourself for a week without social media. Take a digital detox, practice your positive affirmations, and let the calm control seep in.

Banish your inner-overthinker and perfectionist: Life can be hard and tiring when you spend your time overthinking everything and only striving for perfection. And surprisingly, many people suffer from these two traits that stand in the way of making quick and confident decisions. So how can you banish them? By organizing your thoughts in a structured way (as we touched on above), you can overcome the circular nature of overthinking and create a framework for focused thinking instead. When it comes to perfectionism, it’s important to stop any negative thought that if something isn’t perfect, it’s a failure. Try to turn perceiving failure on its head and seeing it as an opportunity to dust yourself off, learn a thing or two, and move onwards. As they say, “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade”.

Scroll down for more articles or learn more about how emotions affect decisions, how emotions affect learning or our physical health, and 10 ways to improve your emotional health today.