9 Daily Habits You Should Adopt To Make Better Decisions In Life

“Your choices are made in a moment, and yet their consequences transcend a lifetime.” – MJ DeMarco

Isn’t this quote true? You can choose within seconds but the consequences of those decisions stay with you forever. Knowing how (and when) to make better choices and good decisions is important.

I mean, you wouldn’t want to throw away your dream job because you chose to wear the wrong outfit, right? Making the right decision at the right time can be the key to the betterment of your life. Moreover, it’s not just making the right decision at the right time, it’s also about doing so with confidence.

If you’re struggling with how to make better decisions in life, then luckily, there’s a solution! Changing your daily habits. I know, what kind of solution is this? But it is the one solution that can work effectively and help you become a better decision-maker.

Let’s take a look at the daily habits you should adopt to make better (and good) decisions in life.

9 Habits To Adopt For Better Decision-Making

“If you believe you can change – if you make it a habit – the change becomes real.” – Charles Duhigg

1. Be Confident, But Not Overconfident

Overconfidence is never helpful and can make your decision awry. It’s normal for people to overestimate their performance or even knowledge. Consider your confidence level.

Do you think it’ll only be an hour to finish a task? Check if you’re being confident or overconfident. Pause and estimate your success and at the end of the day, review. Were you confident or overconfident?

2. Take A Note Of Your Habits

When you’re familiar with certain habits, it’s likely to turn into comfort. And when comfort is there, it becomes easy to make poor decisions because you don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. For instance, you may eat junk food for lunch daily but since your health is not affected, you don’t see a problem.

However, with time, your body will experience health issues. Take a note of your habits and see how they’re affecting the decisions you’re making in life, which are healthy and which are unhealthy.

3. Frame The Problems With A Different Perspective

The way you look at a problem can also make a difference in how you’ll respond to it. For example, if Person A says, there is a 90% chance that you’ll pass, and on the other hand, Person B says, there’s a 10% chance that you’ll fail; you’re likely to focus on the “10% chance of failure”.

When faced with a problem, frame the problem differently. Pause and think about how changing the wording can affect your thinking and decision-making.

4. Avoid Thinking About The Problem

We all face tough choices in our lives and we might spend a lot of time thinking about the advantages and disadvantages, risks and rewards, the good and bad. And while thinking about your options is a good thing, overthinking cannot be so.

When you focus on a problem for a long time, it makes it harder for you to make a better decision. So instead of thinking about the problem, sleep on it or maybe distract yourself from thinking about it too much. Let your brain work at its pace. You’ll eventually end up with a good decision.

Read: Do Not Let Decision Fatigue Weigh You Down

5. Reflect On The Mistakes You Made

Maybe you forgot to take the raincoat when you left for work and now you’re drenched or maybe you didn’t pay attention to your monthly budget and made a purchase that was heavy on your budget. It’s OK. Pause and reflect on the mistakes you made.

Every day when you come home, list the choices you made in the day and where you went wrong. Learn from the mistakes and make sure you don’t think about those mistakes for long. Limit 10 minutes to worry about them and work on a solution but not more than that.

6. Avoid Using Shortcuts

We’re biased and not completely objective. Did you know that our minds have mental shortcuts called “heuristics” that help us make faster decisions?

While these shortcuts can come in handy and not make us waste hours thinking about our choice, likely, sometimes they may not work to our benefit. Its best if you avoid using these shortcuts and think about the choices you’re making, the decisions you’re taking.

7. Challenge Your Beliefs

Once you’re told something is a fact, it’s difficult to change that belief, right? There’s a possibility that you have developed some beliefs that are not serving you well.

For example, you may believe you’re not a good speaker so now you avoid speaking up or maybe someone told you that you have no relationship skills so now you have stopped trying to make a relationship. These beliefs you’ve developed can also lead you to make poor decisions. Try to challenge your beliefs.

8. Give A Name To Your Emotions

We’re quick to use metaphors or phrases to describe what we’re feeling and for many adults who are not comfortable sharing their emotions, it seems like a good choice. But naming what you’re feeling can also help you make better decisions in life. Believe it or not, our feelings can influence our decision-making.

For example, if you’re nervous about a job interview, you might be less likely to engage in social activities that night. Feelings of excitement can make you overconfident. So, daily, name your emotions, pause, and see how these emotions are affecting your decision-making.

9. Practice Self-Compassion

When your friend is in a fix, you’ll be there to help them feel better, right? So when you find yourself in a situation, ask yourself what would you be telling your friend if they were in your position? Talk to yourself as you were to a loved one. This will help you separate from the decision and think objectively about the solution.

And of course, self-compassion makes you feel kinder toward yourself, and while you are likely to say something negative, imagining talking to yourself like a friend can reduce that risk. Practice self-compassion or positive self-talk daily and see how this improves your decision-making.

“Watch your thoughts, they become your words;

watch your words, they become your actions;

watch your actions, they become your habits;

watch your habits, they become your character;

watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”

– Lao Tzu

hope this blog helped you learn how to make better decisions in life by simply changing your daily habits. For more, you can write to us at info@calmsage.com or DM us on social media. If you’d like to share your habits with us, then you can leave a comment in the section below!