Making Better Decisions thru' Mindfulness

Do you ever find yourself making a snap decision you later regret??

That's your fear-based fight-or-flight response kicking in. It can be great in a situation of true physical threat, but bad in a situation where you want to make a thoughtful choice to create a long-term benefit to you and others.?

Life comes at us fast, and sometimes our brains jump into survival mode before we even have a chance to think.?

Today I am sharing how to make better decisions--with mindfulness!?

Mindfulness will allow you to bring a little more thoughtfulness and CHOICE into your life so your decisions come from the Centered/Sage mind.?This allows you to engage better actions that lead to better results.?

Step 1:?Take a DEEP breath! Be present and remind yourself to relax. Our minds are clearer when we're calm, and we make better decisions from this place.

Step 2:?Acknowledge your emotions. Joy, fear, frustration, excitement... they all influence our choices. Recognize them and let them help guide you. Decisions made from positive emotional states are?always?going to serve you better.

Step 3:?Identify pros and cons of various choices. Take a moment to consider the possible outcomes of each, and imagine what effect your decision could have (on self and others). Will it bring you closer to your goals or further from them? Will it provide something of value to others as well as yourself?

Step 4:?Seek advice or alternative perspectives. Often, it's helpful to take a different viewpoint. See it from different angles or others' points of view. Pass it by a "wise" friend, mentor, or coach.

Step 5:?Don't be attached to the outcome having to be a certain way to be considered the "right" decision. Every decision we make creates a ripple effect. Sometimes we see the ripples as "positive" or as expected/desired, and sometimes we see something else and label that as "bad" or "wrong." But it's all a matter of interpretation.?And ripples keep going, further than we can immediately see. Forever, in fact. A chain reaction can bring about something further down the line that we or others can choose to see as a "win."?

Letting go of labeling things as "right/wrong," "good/bad," "enough/not enough" creates a sense of freedom. Know that anything can be seen as or turned into a gift or opportunity. This is the Sage Perspective I teach in Positive Intelligence. I'll share more about that in next week's newsletter, so be on the lookout.

Until then,?give yourself the opportunity to practice the 5 mindful decision-making steps above the next time you are at a decision point--large or small--and see how it leads to better outcomes.

As always, write back and let me know if this was helpful to you in any way.