Can’t pick a choice easily? Or would you need hours together to decide upon one? True, it can get messy when too many things boggle your mind all at once. Even a menu card in a restaurant can seem torturous. Never mind. ~Here is something to help you through the smallest and most significant decision-making.
A decision can be a choice between options, a call for an action, arriving at a conclusion or making a resolution. At various points in our journey called life, we have to make decisions. Right from choosing a brand of footwear to making a career choice. Moving forward in life revolves around making the right decisions. Success in life, somewhere, indicates correct decisions.
It is crucial to make correct decisions as we have to bear the consequences of those decisions. Also to avoid being stuck in uncertainty, choosing wisely is the key. Many times, be it in corporate life or our personal life, our decisions impact us and lives around us as well.
Why and how does decision making get tough?
There can be intrinsic and extrinsic factors that hinder good decision making:
Extrinsic factors:
- Lack or excess of required information
- Equal or similar choices to pick from
- Too many alternatives to choose from
- Lack of timelines due to procrastination
- Such situations can make the whole decision-making process quite cumbersome. Fatigue and an agitated state of mind is no surprise as a result. Better decision making is possible only when one can overcome such obstacles.
Intrinsic factors:
- Greed: When there is greed, there will be feverishness. It is usually related to a desire to be fulfilled.
- Fear: Bogs one down and stops any progress as there is no confidence to take any risks.
- These two natural factors lead to restlessness, cause obscurity and confusion. The mind becomes thoroughly exhausted. There is extensive burn-out due to the built-up stress as the mind does not want to remain in a state of uncertainty.
Tips to make better decisions
Here are some key tips on how to make decision without regret.
Become aware: Awareness can be enhanced by increasing the prana or life-force in you. The easiest way to up your energy levels is through meditation, and breathing techniques like the Sudarshan Kriya.
Develop clarity of mind: It helps in simplifying the complexity involved in decision.
Polish your communication skills: Opening up communication channels eases the process of decision-making.
Build self-confidence: As certain decisions have a risk factor, confidence is essential. Have faith in the decision you take and move forward.
Working with apt timelines is helpful.
All-time solution to indecisiveness- Intuition:
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar explains, “Intuition means that which simply comes up beyond reason. Intuition is what we know as a gut feeling or a hunch. It is instinctive, yet it can be developed. It is intuition that brings about decision-making skills in us.”
Becoming intuitive:
i. You can become intuitive with regular meditation. The more regular and deeper one’s meditation becomes, the greater is the sense of intuition. You can learn to meditate by enrolling in a Sahaj Samadhi Program happening near you here. Cannot wait any longer? Start off with a guided meditation now.
ii. Surya Namaskar or sun salutation when practiced with a meditation enhances intuitive abilities. The solar plexus which is almond-sized expands to the size of your palm, increasing intuition. Know more about Surya Namaskar and developing intuition.
Know that you are right when your choice is leading you to short-term misery but long-term happiness. So relax, develop your intuition and move forward with confidence.
Inspired by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s wisdom talks
Based on inputs by Vivek Shenoy, faculty member, The Art of Living
