Michael Angelo Costa

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STRESSING OUT ABOUT A BIG DECISION?

HERE’S HOW TO GET IT RIGHT

You desperately want to go to sleep. You breathe deeply, trying to clear your head and relax, but you can’t. There’s no sleep to be had, just tossing and turning and watching the clock.

You’ve got a very important decision to make and are completely stressed out. You started thinking about this problem weeks ago, and in a couple of weeks, you will have to actually make that final choice. During the day when you think about this conundrum, your heart races. At the end of the day, you feel exhausted and no closer to a solution.

We have all been here. Our minds whir, circling around the issue but never quite landing on a sure answer. We get frustrated, stress builds, and we are often left feeling defeated.

When we are out of our area of expertise, it’s common to put off making decisions. This is classic procrastination. Meanwhile, we secretly hope that the right decision will somehow come in a moment of inspiration – perhaps after we meditate, do yoga, or go for an endorphin-releasing run.

While mental and physical exercise can help clear the mind, they don’t treat the cause of our anxiety. The dilemma remains, and the important decision still must be faced.

So what’s the solution? Instead of hoping for inspiration, it’s better to have a methodical, but simple, plan for making the best decision every time, regardless of the topic.

Just like you can learn new meditation and yoga techniques, you can learn a method for making decisions that will release you from the vicious cycle of stress and procrastination and give you the confidence to tackle big choices…

Even on the most important and impactful issues.

Even when there is a lot riding on it.

A practice for making decisions not only greatly increases your chances to get the outcome you desire, but also gives you confidence in your choice, knowing that you have considered all aspects. The result is always a better decision – and if you have done the work, the right decision, every time – with a lot less stress.

In the upcoming blog series, we reveal the four key factors to good decision making – what you need to know and how to do it. Learning how to master important decisions in work or in your personal life will help break the vicious stress cycle and give you the best chance to get what you want.