subject: Conscious Decisions And Analyzing Information [print this page] A conscious decision is a decision that you know you are making. It is made by evaluating the information that is available and determining the course of action that is most likely to accomplish the objective.
To make a satisfactory conscious decision you must:
1 Know the objective. (The desired response, or goal you wish to accomplish.) You must know exactly what you wish to accomplish, so you can decide the best way to accomplish it.
2 Know how much time you have before the decision must be made. In this aspect, there are two kinds of decisions; one that has no deadline, or has a specific deadline that the decision must be made by, with nothing to gain by an early decision. And the other is a decision that loses its importance or value with time. For example, a decision to buy a stock that is gaining in value, every minute you wait before making the decision to buy can cost you money.
3 Know how much your emotions are, (if any), influencing the decision. You have probably heard the saying,"Love is blind." What that saying means is that a person in love sometimes cannot see what is obvious to everyone else, (regarding the other person). The reason is that the emotional influence is so strong that it can obstruct the ability to make a rational evaluation of the information. Love is probably the strongest emotion, but jealousy, greed, fear, anger, and others can all over influence a decision. Try not to make important decisions when you are under an emotional strain.
4 Have two or more courses of action to choose from. (The more the better.) You have probably heard the old saying,"There is more than one way to skin a cat." What that saying means, is that many times there can be more than one course of action that can accomplish the same results. Before making an important decision you should think of how many different ways you could accomplish your objective. In some cases, you may also need a contingency plan. (A course of action that will be taken if the original decision does not accomplish its objective, or if something goes wrong ).
5 Know the amount of risk involved with the decision.(What will happen if the objective is not accomplished, or what could go wrong, even if the objective is accomplished ). Sometimes a scenario can help you recognize dangers in a specific situation, or with a decision. A scenario is a sequence of events that could happen. The two most common scenarios that you hear are; the expected and the worst case scenario. An expected scenario is the chain of events that you expect to happen. A worst case scenario, is the worst chain of events that could happen. (What will happen if everything goes wrong.) After you know what can go wrong, you can see what can be done to try to prevent it from happening, and you won't be caught off guard if it does. You can be prepared with contingency plans if possible, that could minimize the risks and damage.
6 Have enough information to make the decision. Generally, the more information you have the better. But, gathering more information than is necessary to make the decision can consume time and overly complicate the decision. (Decide what information is needed, and don't waste your time with unnecessary information ).
Now, you can use the information and make your decision. In most cases the decision will be obvious by the time you are finished gathering the information. If it's not, there are several different ways information can be displayed to help you decide.
One way is the plus and minus or pro and con method. This method will show you the risks and benefits in each option, even if the options do not have the same risks or benefits. For each different option (course of action) you are choosing from. Make two columns, in one column put all the minus remarks. Be sure to list all the points against it, including anything that might go wrong. In the other column put all the plus remarks. Be sure to list all the points in favor of it, including any contingency plans that would neutralize or minimize any minus remarks. Now compare them to is which course of action is the most promising. Important don't just add all the plus remarks, and all the minus remarks; each remark you listed has its own value to you. It is the value of each remark, not the number of them, you are concerned with. If you have a hunch, gut feeling or whatever about a particular option, you can list it in the column it would go in, if you feel it is not emotionally inspired. A hunch is your subconscious giving you advice. (It may or may not be good advice?)
Another way to display information is on a comparison table. A comparison table is very good when you are comparing options that have the same known points of concern.( Price,quantity,delivery date,interest rate,etc. ).
And a scenario tree can be used when the decision has uncertain elements (events). It can show various scenarios of possible events, and show contingency plans. A scenario tree that shows what could happen with each of the options that are being considered. Only shows scenarios that are being considered or may be unavoidable. On the tree indicates where a decision is needed, with a D, and what the options would be. Some of the options would be contingency plans. At the end of each option put a E to indicate possible events that the decision maker does not have control of. At the end of each event put D, and so on. Note, don't make the scenarios longer than necessary to make the decision.
You may have heard the saying "Sleep on it and give me your answer in the morning." If you are making an important decision, and you have the time, it is a vary good idea to sleep on it, before you give your final answer . Because when you have been thinking about a decision, and you go to sleep, your subconscious will continue to think about it. And in the morning your decision may be the opposite of what it was when you went to sleep. Especially if your decision was being influenced by a salesman, or a spur of the moment emotion !
If after making the list, table, and or tree you still cannot make a decision, it is because you have one of these problems :
1 You do not have a sufficient amount of information. And no commitment to action should be made before additional information is available.
2 Your subconscious does not want you to make the decision. And no commitment to action will take place before you overcome this problem.
3 All of the options are equal. If they are all good, go with your gut feeling. And if they are all equally bad, choose not to make a commitment, unless you absolutely have to, and if you have to, go with your gut feeling.
