First Decision
Over the weekend, I had a hard decision to make. I had multiple clubs that I was interested in joining. However, the one I had been most excited for turned out to be a poor fit for my interests and time. I knew deep down that I’d have to leave the club, even if it was hard to do. All weekend I sifted over my options of leaving or not and what would be best for me. I asked several of my friends for their opinions. After three long days, I made the move and removed myself.
Then, I read the blog entitled, “How to Get Better Decision Making Skills and Be Sure Every Time” by Jessica Sweet. I related to the idea brought out that many people struggle to progress from childlike decision-making skills to real life sophisticated skills (2017, para. 1).
Comparing my first attempt to decide effectively to the blog’s advice was eye opening. I saw myself falling into the first trap which Sweet (2017) referred to as “Narrow Framing” (The traps of decision making section, para. 1). Instead of thinking of other options, I had only two thoughts: to leave or not. I could have manipulated my schedule to better fit the club, possibly.
Even though I felt bad for bothering so many of my friends with the conundrum, I had unintentionally followed a tip for decision making skills: “Ask yourself what you’d advise your best friend to do, look at the bigger picture, and let go of the ‘status quo bias’” (Sweet, 2017, Step away from your emotions section, para. 2).
I’m proud that I separated my emotions from such a stressful decision by pulling in neutral opinions. My biggest gripe with the way I made the decision was that it took me so long to decide.
In the future, I would like to speed up the process. I would also like to remember some of the other pit falls brought out by Sweet (2017) including avoiding confirmation bias and being too confident in one’s decisions (The traps of decision making section, para. 2, 4). Hopefully I made the right decision to leave the club and can benefit from the remaining clubs that I enjoy.
References
Sweet, J. (2017, July 10). How to get better decision making skill and be sure every time. [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@WishingwellGift/how-to-get-better-decision-making-skills-and-be-sure-every-time-9d176c966326
Runkle, J. (2013, April 25). The process [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/jenrunkle3/decisive-19949761
