How to Make Critical Decisions For Work & Life

THE CHALLENGE: MAKING CRITICAL DECISIONS

Do you have a system for making critical decisions?

Every single day we are faced with making lots of different decisions

• Decisions within our career and businesses
• Decisions within our marriage and family
• Decisions for our health
• etc

Ultimately our decisions determine our destiny

Depending on the decision…the outcome can go left or right…good or bad…favorable or unfavorable.

• If I decide to marry my wife…life looks different
• If I decide a different career…life looks different
• If I decide to hit the snooze button…I'm late for work…
• If I decide to not workout or decide to eat something unhealth…then there's a different future than if I do…

Therefore, the decisions we make are EXTREMELY important! They determine our destiny.

So with that said…

• How do you make decisions such that, given the same circumstances, no matter the outcome, you would make the same decision again?

• How do you create consistency in your decision making to reflect where it is you want to go in life?

• How do you make decisions that are congruent with how you want life to be?

• How do you make decisions that you would never ever regret?

THE PROBLEM: A CURRENT UNRELIABLE SYSTEM FOR DECISION-MAKING

One of the ways many of us make decisions is seeking the wisdom and opinion of others. We come to a crossroad and try to see what decision other people (people who hopefully have wisdom to offer wise suggestions) would make given the same situation.

There is certainly benefits to gaining the wisdom of others, but it does present a challenge. We are trying to make a decision based off of what a completely different person would do, but standing in your shoes. This presents a challenge because of the nuances of the situation and differences of personality. If we strictly use the opinions of others…we may regret the decision if things don't go as we desired. Ultimately, the opinions of others is good to gather information of ideas or perspectives that maybe you haven't considered in making your.

THE SOLUTIONS: CORE VALUES

What I've found is that…the wisdom of others helps me gather information to make a decision, but the most effective practice for making a decision I won't regret and is congruent with where I want to go is…

Using my Core Values as a Compass for my Decision Making

My definition of Core Values: The central ideas, principles, and/or standards that your life is guided by

Benefits of having a set of core values:

• They set a true north, like a compass, to ensure decision making will ultimately stay consistent with the destination of your goals – Keeps you going in the right direction
• It adds power to your decisions by making them more definitive and without ambiguity
• Allows you to know what to say 'NO' to
• Encourages action: If your core values are being compromised then it encourages (1) a needed critical conversation, (2) ideas for change, or (3) decision to leave!

Examples:

• I was recently invited to be on the board of directors of a local non-profit…aka a critical decision. However, because of my core values it was easy for me to say yes to the opportunity.
• However, I was also recently invited to be part of a real estate project. It would have taken more time and energy and was not currently in alignment with my core values. Therefore it was easy to say, "no thank you".

(Nugget: Getting good at saying no to the right things is JUST AS, IF NOT MORE important than knowing what to say yes to)

ACTION: CREATING YOUR CORE VALUES

How to Make a list of core values:

1. A good number is between 4-7 Core Values
2. Write down a longer list
   1. What values really matter to you?
   2. What principles of life do you value?
   3. How do you want life to look? What values need to be in place to get there?
3. Narrow it down to 4-7
4. Write them down and put them in a place where you will see them consistently (memorize them)
5. Do it with your family and your business

Last question: Are your core values in line with your faith?? Your Faith should influence your core values.

My Core Values:

• Live as a reflection of God and Jesus Christ
• Embrace God's Will Over My Own
• Relationships over results
• I am 4th (1.God, 2.Family, 3.Employees/Patients/Clients, 4.Me)
• Love and serve others unconditionally with looking for nothing in return
• Consistency

This will simplify and standardize your decisions to ensure that life is navigated toward how you want it to actually be…and avoid regretting decisions.

If you need help, book a 1:1 Discovery Call with me at https://drbradmd.com

Talk to you soon,

Dr. Brad