Think in Options and Choose Wisely

. . . making thoughtful decisions that are right for you

Our power to choose is a gift from the creator. As human beings we are very blessed. We can choose our own paths by making decisions. We can track our current status in life back through thousands of decisions we've made along the way. We may feel, however, that if we had made choices differently, more wisely, we would be closer to achieving our goals.

But how do we make wise decisions? Like everyone, we make them based on what we think is best given our options at the time. Too often, however, we don't consider enough options. Some time ago now, I attended a one-year workshop called The Successful Habits Program. The workshop leader, Les Hewit, suggested that for every decision, we could find a minimum of ten options. For example, I break my leg. Ten options to consider might be

1. Crawl to the hospital and have it set.
2. Set it myself.
3. Do nothing - just let it set broken.
4. Have a friend set it.
5. Ask for help to get to the hospital to have it set.
6. Wait for someone to notice and let that person make a decision for me.
7. Break my other leg and leave it un-set so I have a matching set of improperly healed legs.
8. Kill myself so I don't have to feel the pain.
9. Break someone else's leg so that person can know how I feel and can truly understand me.
10. Yell, scream, and feel my pain.

Admittedly, a number of these options are ridiculous, but that isn't the point. In that list is an option that's just right for me. You may come up with ten different options, one of which is just right for you.

Typically, when confronted with difficult decisions, people choose the path of least resistance. Training ourselves to think of ten options in complicated situations puts us in the habit of looking beyond what first meets the eye, of creating our own solutions rather than being drawn toward the simplest ones.

Some options may seem ridiculous, some not very desirable, but one of ten may offer the perfect solution - a solution we wouldn't have thought of if we hadn't come up with ten options. When thinking in options becomes a habit, we are able to make key decisions quicker and safer.

Too often people make choices quickly and subconsciously. Sometimes it’s safe to do so—other times it’s not. But why gamble with important decisions? We can take greater control of the direction of our lives by pausing for a moment during a busy day to consider a few more options. We could put off making a decision until we have gathered enough information to make an informed choice.

We could phone our mentors or co-workers or friends or accountant to ask for feedback on the decision we have to make. With their opinions to add to our own list of options, we can feel comfortable knowing we've gathered enough information to make a thoughtful decision that is right for us.

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