How to Make Life-Changing Decisions

Are you the kind of person who is forever complaining about your job or life but never doing anything about it? Or perhaps you’re the type of person who plods along, accepting whatever life throws your way, afraid of making a change, or taking a risk, or making any kind of decision even if it could potentially lead to greater happiness? Well, if you answered yes to any of the above, then you’re not alone; when faced with the uncomfortable situation of having to make a life-changing decision, many of us freeze, procrastinate, and take the safe and easy option and do nothing.

Every day we make decisions which affect and shape our lives; but mostly these decisions are small and don’t carry too much risk for us. Many people like the idea of making life-changing decisions – they’d like to start their own business, move abroad, change their career, or become the person that they want to be, but they err on the side of caution, they ‘wait and see’, and they use due diligence as a way to put off risk, or to avoid it completely.

So, here are a few things that you can do to help you to make those important life-changing decisions:

1. Do your research. If you decide that you would like to change your job, start a new business or move to a different country, you can readily research companies and opportunities, destinations and properties by using the internet.
2. Make a vision board. Sit quietly, shut your eyes and visualise what it is that you want to achieve. Then go through magazines and tear out images, words or headlines that strike you or that match what you are trying to achieve. Stick your images and words on a board, add writing if you want to, and hang your vision board in a place where you can see it often. The board will inspire and motivate you and will give you laser sharp focus that will help you to achieve your goals.
3. Make a Pros and Cons list. Use the classic, two-column ‘Pros and Cons’ list to help you to decide whether or not you are making the right decision. Make sure that you give each item a number between -5 to +5, with -5 being very bad and +5 being total happiness. For example, Pro: Moving to France will help me learn the language better (weighted +4); Con: Moving abroad may be risky financially if I can’t get a job (-5).
4. Think about what is important to you. What do you value? What are you interested in? What are your needs? Taking your time to really think about what you want and what is important to you will help guide you when making life-changing decisions.

A few things you might like to consider if you’re about to make a life changing decision are as follows:

• Try not to concentrate too much on the details, but instead stay flexible and able to take advantage of any opportunities that come your way. You should also be aware that your plans will often change, as you experience the reality of your potential new situation and you come to a wider understanding through your research. Try to visualise the bigger picture, what you could potentially achieve and the possibilities that don’t even exist yet.

• Don’t become obsessed with trying to make the ‘right’ (less risky) decision; the option that offers greater rewards and fewer risks might not be necessarily the best option for you and might not make you happy.

• Finally, don’t become obsessed by reading about what other people have done and how they did it, as you could lose touch with what’s important and right for you.

If you would like to learn more about how to make life-changing decisions, there are many articles on this subject, written by careers adviser and lifestyle coach Jan, on The Career In Lifestyle Journal website. You’ll also find advice on: careers exploration and planning; lifestyle design; personal development including goal setting and productivity; and advice on how to Balance Work Life.

If you want advice on how to find a job, you can also download her free e-book ‘5 Steps to Find a Job in Today’s Job Market’ straight from her website.

Bio

Jan is a qualified careers adviser and lifestyle coach and works with clients of all ages and career backgrounds on a 1-1 basis and through e-guidance via her website www.careerslifestylejournal.com. She is passionate about helping individual’s to become more self-aware, and helps them to identify the right career and work-life balance for them which is aligned with their interests, values, skills and talents.