Life's Choices and Making Decisions Along the Way.

Making decisions in life can be tough. If you've been around even a little while, you know that. You've been through it. You've sat there with your head in your hands wondering which way to go.

For all of us, those tough decisions weigh heavily on our minds. We can't escape it. The fact is you are on a journey and have to make decisions until you die. And not just a few decisions. A lot of decisions. That's life.

It's like traveling down a long, winding road, sometimes hitting bumps along the way. Every now and then, the road turns into a crossroads where you have choices. You have to decide right, left, or to continue the same direction.There are roads that lead to a single moment in time that will be remembered forever,i.e., a marriage, birth, or other stepping stone in life. There are also roads that lead to success, fame, or fortune, as well as roads that lead to seclusion, isolation, or poverty.

There are as many roads to happiness and excitement as there are to defeat, sadness, and disappointment. Choosing which roads to take and making decisions appropriately will ultimately be up to you!

You will certainly come across your share of detours, corners, and crossroads when making decisions, but perhaps the most complicated road you'll ever encounter is a crossroad. With four paths to take, how do you make the decision to take one over the other without knowing where it will lead you? How will you make decisions on which path to take? What are the guarantees that you will choose the best route along the way? Would you take any road, or just stay where you are...in front of a crossroad?

You don't really know where a certain road will take you until you choose to take it. There are no guarantees, and this is one of the most important things you must understand about life and making decisions. Nobody said that choosing to do the right thing all the time will always lead you to happiness or success.

Loving someone doesn't always mean your love will be returned. Achieving fame and fortune doesn't always mean you'll be happy. There are just too many possibilities when making decisions, over which you really have no control.

The onely sure thing you do have power over is the choices you make and how you'll react to all the different situations you'll encounter over your lifetime.

You always realize you made a bad decision after the fact. Had you known that you were making the wrong decision ahead of time, would you have made the same decision anyway? Probably not! It's only after you've been able to reflect back on your decision that you realize the soundness of it. If the consequences or outcomes are good for you, then you have made the right decision; otherwise, your decision was not a good choice.

You cannot go through life without taking some risks! Since life does not offer any guarantees, and you won't know if your decisions will be good or bad until after the fact, go ahead...take a risk and decide! Deciding to take risks beats the alternative...always wondering what could have been!

Although making just one wrong decision could get you lost, it could also mean that taking such a turn could be an opportunity for a new, exciting adventure, or better yet, open up pathways to even more opportunities. It all depends on how you look at things.

You have the choice between being a lost traveler or an accidental tourist of life. Just be careful not to be too hasty when making decisions...taking risks doesn't mean that you make decisions carelessly or without much thought at all.

Here are some suggestions to help you when facing life's difficult crossroads:

Get as much information as you can about the situation. You need to know as much as possible about the choices you're facing in order to have the confidence you need when making decisions to make the best decision possible. Ask yourself the 5 W`s: Who, what, where, when, and why? Who will be affected by me decision? What exactly is the situation I'm facing? When will this occur? Where will this lead me? Why am I in this situation? These are just some of thing you must answer to get a better understanding of the situation. This is very important because more times than not you will find yourself unable to make a decision until more information is learned about the situation.
Identify and create options. What options do you actually have in this situation? You might find you have very few options or, on the other hand, too many option. What do you do if you think you have NO options? This is when you come up with your own. Put your creative mind to work when making decisions. From the most simplistic to the most complicated, entertain all ideas. Don't throw out any ideas that pop into your head. Sometimes the most outrageous idea could turn out to be the very best choice in the end. You might want to ask friends for their advice as to handle a certain situation to give you ideas, but always be sure you make your own decisions in the end. Taking responsibility is an important factor when you are making decisions.
Weigh the pros and cons of every single option. Assess each one by looking at the advantages and disadvantages, and you'll get more insight about the consequences or rewards for each option.
Trust yourself, have confidence, and make your decision. Now that you have assessed all your options, it is now time to decide. Remember that there are no guarantees and wrong decisions are always at hindsight. So think ... choose ... and decide ... be confident that you are making the best choice from your options!

Now that you're ready to make your decision, you need to prepare yourself to suffer any consequences just in case it wasn't necessarily the right decision. Your decision may just take you down the road to wonderful opportunities or to the land of many problems. The important thing, however, is that you've chosen to live your life instead of remaining a bystander or a passive audience to your own life.

Whether it is the right decision or not, only time can tell, but don't regret making decisions no matter the outcome. Instead, chalk it up as a lesson learned if it turns out to be the wrong decision and this will help you make better decisions in the future.

The important thing to keep in mind when making decisions is that when you make a decision many things become available to you. And here's what's most important: The more decisions you make, the more you

develop decision making confidence .

For more related articles read these pages.
The Balanced Woman
5 Ways to Defuse an Argument
8 Qualities to Possess To Achieve Happiness
Setting Goals To Enhance Our Self-Esteem and Provide Direction In Our Lives

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