What's Done Is Done: 5 Ways To Figure Out If You Made The Right Decision

If there’s one thing as certain as death and taxes, it surely has to be decision-making.

From as early as we’re able to crawl, we enter a world of daily decisions: what we eat, wear, say; where we live, holiday, avoid. With every waking moment of our lives, a decision is being made, and sometimes, they can be pretty big.

It’s not surprising, then, that as we get older and start to understand the magnitude of consequences, these decisions get harder to make. Our ability to foresee the various outcomes increases, making the right choices less about instinct and more about reasoning.

If you find yourself caught between the two, here are some ways to figure out if you walked the right path:

Was your final decision based on what other people would think, or the results you wanted?

As we get older and more familiar with feelings of guilt or embarrassment, we tend to factor in the possibilities of these whenever me make a choice.

The important thing to remember is embarrassment is about ego, and guilt is about not fully accepting yourself or what you have done. Neither of these two feelings are sound footing on which to make a choice.

Be honest about the results you want and find ways to deal with any impact that may arise.

The most important thing to you now is how it works out, not what may have happened if you’d chosen something else.

When a decision is made, there is very little point in expending energy on what-ifs.

People who make a choice and know it’s correct are on high-alert to see how it pans out. Not only that, they’re also thinking about the best-case scenario and what they may need to do if the worst-case scenario happens.

There is no looking back.

If you could go back in time, you would do the same thing.

So, you would either do the same thing if you had another shot at it, or yes, you might change it, but it’s still definitely not a regret either way.

Growing up involves understanding that the choices we make in the moment may not always work out best for us in the long run, but it doesn’t negate the lessons we have to learn or the experiences that come from them.

Actually, the same is true vice versa: Sometimes, a difficult decision in the now makes for a better life in the long run.

You didn’t even need to think about it – you just knew.

A lot of the time, we know right off the bat what we want to do. The moment, however, can be seriously fleeting, depending on how self-aware you are and how strong your instincts.

In order to strengthen instincts, they must be exercised, and that involves trust.

What gets in the way of decision-making a lot of the time is self-talk and opinions of others. Getting advice is sometimes useful and sometimes not. People make decisions in all sorts of ways and will have different motives, even when only imagining to be in your shoes.

Be very careful when you begin allowing the thoughts of others to override your own instincts as an individual.

You would advise someone to do the same.

Ultimately, if someone came to you with the exact same problem and the exact same resolve or coping abilities as you, would you advise him or her to do the same thing? Or, put in another way, would you talk your walk?

Granted, not everyone can handle the same results in the same manner, but a big indicator of whether you made a correct move for your life can also be seen in the way you choose to communicate it.