Many people have trouble making decisions. People are often afraid of making the wrong decision. Just remember that even if you make the wrong decision, you can learn from it. As long as you use the decision and its outcome to your advantage, you are progressing.

Some of the factors that hinder decision making include the physical or mental inability to make a decision. Some people experience great anxiety when making decisions. Procrastination also hinders decision making, as does letting your emotions control you. Being “wishy-washy” and not wanting to hurt any feelings also stands in the way of many decisions.

One way to effectively make a decision is to define the problem. Once that is done, gather all the necessary information, pro and con, about the problem. Look at all the possibilities and evaluate them. Take the possibilities and see what may work and what may not. Pick the best possibility that you can envision. Go ahead and begin to work on the solution. Be sure to check on your progress as you are implementing your decision. It is important to review the decision. You need to be able to see what worked and what did not work. Make certain that you learn from the experience, whether it was good or bad.

Sometimes decisions are so large that circumstances may dictate making small changes, rather than large ones. You may want to use a trial and error method. Make a small decision and see if it works. After the first decision is made, evaluate it and move forward or laterally, if necessary. Prioritize the challenges so that you do not have to decide everything at one time. Let each decision help the next one.

Always look to the future when making decisions. You need to be open to the unknown possibilities and factors that may exist. Keep your mind open to all avenues.