How to Make Life-Changing Decisions

By Susan “Honey” Good

Everything we do requires a decision. Our days from the moment we rise until we close our eyes each night are filled with our choices. We have options to choose and the consequences of decisions to live with. So how does one make life-changing decisions… or even small ones?

A decision begins with a judgment call and ends with what we hope will be a positive resolution. Most decisions are based on simple everyday choices. What is fascinating to me is that every single thing we do in our lives involves a decision. Writing that last sentence exhausts me!

Why should women 50 plus have to continuously live with thinking through choices? Why can’t we just live easily into our answer? Sometimes in the market, I dwell over a product choice! Ridiculous. But, I do. I am sure you do, too.

ARE THERE EASY DECISIONS? NOT A CHANCE!

It seems nothing is easy any longer in the decision-making department. Some decisions should be easy; for example, choosing a product. How can we ‘manage our choices and our time’ when there are 50 brands to choose from? And what about services like Netflix with 1,000 films to choose from or should we skip Netflix and go to Amazon Prime or HBO?

How many of our households have one clicker for their television? In our home, my ultimate concierge asks himself, “When should I use the black clicker? When should I use the white Apple clicker and when should I use both clickers?”

In the pet department, I love to call Chewy. They answer their phones; their staff is superior. The product is delivered as promised. But, then decision rears its ugly head when I have to decide on a new product, such as a crate for my puppy.

I think to myself; one size does not fit all. My pooch will grow. Should I get a larger crate? What brand should I purchase? How many crates do I need? Should I buy one crate and pull it around with me so my pooch can always be with by my side? If so, does the crate have wheels so my floors won’t scratch? Or, should I buy two crates? One for our bedroom and the other for our den? And, then, there are other things to consider such as pooch snacks, toys, and food. OMG by the time I ask questions and decide on all the brands I need, I could have a baby!

But after all is said and done, I am grateful that most decisions are not life-threatening. They only take up brain power and time, and I can comfortably live with that.

DECISIONS THAT MAKE OR BREAK OUR LIVES

When it comes to how to make life-changing decisions, we have all had to make those biggies. Some are very exciting, our choice of a husband, our first home. The names our children will carry all the days of their life. Our career choice. The company we keep.

Some choices are very frightening. Those that involve Illness. The loss of financial security. Divorce. Problems with children young and adult aged. Death of a spouse. In these cases we often have to make life-changing decisions, choices that — in the moment — we often believe will make or break our lives.

Unfortunately, we all make mistakes but, again, a poor decision can become a positive lesson for your future. We learn from bad decisions, and we will not make the error again if we remember the fear, unhappiness, and experiences resulting from a poor judgment call. Life is all about learning and gaining wisdom.

ASK FOR ADVICE

I believe in asking for advice. When I am in a quandary, I seek out the wisdom of someone who I ‘think’ is more astute. It is a decision call and an important one. Sometimes they have helped me to make a wise decision and sometimes they have not. Therefore, some of my decisions on ‘helpers’ were correct and some were not.

I used to ask my mother. After all, she was many years older and therefore many years wiser and most importantly, she genuinely cared. I trusted her and 99% of everything she told me was accurate. In turn, I now try to pass on my wisdom to my family.

I think we have to identify our problems by probing our minds intelligently to gain the insight that is essential in making wise decisions.

Life is one big decision, darlings. At this time, I am in the midst of making some biggies. I wonder if life would be somewhat dull without them? Or would life be peaceful and more productive? I suppose that is another decision for each of us. And so, I have decided to enjoy the ride. I am smiling.

Susan “Honey” Good is the founder of HoneyGood.com where this blog originally appeared. The site is a collection of lessons learned, life advice and insights from not only her, but from a fantastic group of contributing writers, each adding their own spice to the recipe. Honey Good.com representing “a family tree of women” — wives, mothers, daughters, granddaughters, mothers-in-law, daughters-in-law, sisters, aunts, cousins and girlfriends — coming together to talk about what makes them tick as well as what they have in common. Honey Good discusses life experiences with wisdom, humor and intellect, enabling all to attain a “Honey Good Style of Life.”