New Year, New You: Improve Your Decision-Making Skills

Jan. 19, 2012 -- John F. Kennedy once said, "Change is the law of life."

Fast forward to today, when the law of life is in full force in U.S. culture, and coming in at a rapid pace.

We are trekking through revolutionary change on every front, from technology to the economy to social issues and more. As we try to adjust to these changes, some of us are feeling challenged in areas we might least expect.

It seems as though the increase in the number of choices that lands in our laps in our everyday lives has become the challenge for many right now. Making decisions feels, for many, to be a daunting and overwhelming task.

We want to stave off stress and anxiety, so what can we do to simplify? Try these tips to improve your decision-making skills to better adapt to the multi-changing, multi-choice world we live in today.

Remember that decision making is all about the decision maker. The more you know about yourself, your wants, your needs, your faults and your limitations and expectations, the easier it is to navigate the choices that will work best for you.

Weigh and inform your decisions. Decision making requires some sort of process, so train yourself to sift through pros and cons in your mind. You do this naturally anyway, but being conscious of it can speed up and improve the process.

Resist the temptation to imagine that we actually need all the choices available to us. We don't, so stop yourself from feeling the pressure to partake in unnecessary choice making as often as possible.

Set a time limit. When you find yourself inundated and overwhelmed in making a decision, put a time limit on it and stick to it.

Remember your simpler life as a child. Go back to your time as a kid and remember what you did when you did not have as many choices and decisions to make. Apply from that time what you can today.

Keep an eye on your doubt. You wouldn't need to make a decision if the correct choice were obvious, so remember the doubt that you feel is there to help you. Once you make your decision, remember to let the doubt go.

Our life journey is made up by the choices we make along the way. Remind yourself that in every moment of your life, you have opportunity to make the choice that can lead you to where you want to go.

When you feel paralyzed by the process, keep the words of Teddy Roosevelt in mind:

"In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing," he said.