Our life is full of decisions. There are lots of small decisions we have to make on a daily basis such as what to eat for our dinner. There are also the less frequent big decisions covering something like a relationship or career move. Do you have a particular strategy that you apply to making decisions? What principles do you work to?

I read a book called The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama and there was a great section on making decisions that transformed my approach. I wanted to share the ideas with you….

A strategy that I have started to use is to ask myself “is this decision good for me?”. You will find that the right decision i.e. one that is good for you is not always the easiest decision to make or implement. For example, you may be smoking on a regular basis and make a decision to become a non-smoker. That is clearly the right decision and passes the “is this decision good for me?” test. However, it is going to be a real challenge to implement and may feel uncomfortable in the short term.

The trick is to start to develop some awareness around what is driving your decisions. Is the decision really good for you or is it just fulfilling some temproary sensual pleasure? Some temporary sensual pleasures such as a high that you could get from exerciseing or listening to some music you like are very positive. However, other temproary sensual pleasures such as the fix you get from smoking or drugs are clearly negative.

So here is my challenge to you. For the next thirty days increase your awareness around when you are making decisions. For each decision as yourself the question “is this decision good for me?” after you have made it, but before you commit. If the decision is good for you then that’s great – go with it. If it isn’t good for you then see if you can come up with another option which is.

Now I am not going to pretend that this is easy. It’s actually quite tough especially for a big decision that you know you need to make. However, the results will be transformational so it a muscle that is definately worth developing.

If you make a big decision, but need help following it through please fill out the form on my web page for free coaching: http://www.my-life-coach.co.uk/html/life_coaching_my_life_coach_no.html (new clients only). I can work with you across a range of personal and business areas and you are welcome to a complementary session over the telephone or Skype.

Darren