How to make big decisions with limited information and live with those decisions
very day you make decisions based on limited data. If you think about it, there are few, if any, situations in life where you have complete information before making a decision. There are a lot of assumptions, best guesses, logical choices, pre-judgements, confirmation bias etc. etc.
Some people are better at making decisions with limited information, and I will argue that the better you are at making decisions with limited information the more effective you will be at work and at life.
Taking an empirical approach to life’s decisions means making decisions based on fact-based, experience-based, and evidenced-based observations. Being able to make decisions with the information at hand and not wait until you have more information or a clearer picture is a valuable skill that people can possess. An even more valuable skill is being able to live with those decisions and not experience regret or decision remorse.
In every situation you make the best decision you can with the information you have assigning some set of priorities to your goals. And then, afterwards, you sometimes get more information. This allows you to then judge your previous decision. "I should have known ..." Sometimes you will decide that your previous decision was wrong - then you have the opportunity to feel guilt or regret or whatever "hindsight is 20-20" kind of emotion you want to have, which can be detrimental to your ability to be able to make decisions on limited information. What it comes down to, is that you make the best decision you can, in the moment, with the information you have. That’s all that matters.
So, how do you not regret a decision if it turns out it wasn't the best one?
We have all done it before, becoming hesitant to make a decision because we worry there is a better alternative. And there very well may be a better alternative down the road, but as long as you made the right decision at that time with the information you had, it doesn’t matter.
If you have gathered and created options, stayed aligned with your true north, and chose discerningly, then take the leap and don't look back. There are millions of paths we can take in a lifetime, all leading to different opportunities and potential consequences.
You won't have a guarantee, but you don'f the adventure of life. Once you are on this new adventure, have confidence that you made the best decision with the information available, and move forward, never asking what could have been. There is something good to be learned on every path we follow.
The ability to make a decision is the fuel for personal and professional growth. If you enter a decision with the knowledge that uncertainty is inevitable, and you accept you must decide in spite of uncertainty, then you will never get stuck.
I always come back to a book I read called Designing Your Life. It has some great insights into how to make decisions that are true to yourself and how to never dwell on decisions that you have made.
Dysfunctional Belief: To be happy, I have to make the right choice
Reframe: There is no right choice - only good choosing
You can never make “the best choice,” because you can’t know what the best choice was until all the consequences have played out. When in doubt.. Let go and move on.
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