How do you make a decision when in a hurry?

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Hi guys,

I'm a person that before taking any decision it usually needs to think about the same thing over and over. But sometimes you don't have time to think about something for days, and you need to take a decision straight away.

How do you handle that? Do you just make a decision and then try to not let the regret in? I've found that 95% of the time I really suck in making a choice in a rush, and I'd probably take a stupid decision that I'll regret later.

The strange thing is that, after you've failed, everything seems so clear, and you cannot believe that you didn't have the right idea straight away.

Thanks!

Very few important decisions need to be made in a hurry (less than a few days.) *VERY* few.

The quick decisions are usually ones that have relatively minor impacts on one's life. Yes, you might have a small setback or live through an uncomfortable situation, but most of these small decisions are not life-altering.

It is *extremely* helpful, though, to think through hypothetical situations before they arise. I, probably weirdly, have spent a lot of my time (especially when I was younger) doing this in my spare time. I would even have imaginary conversations with certain people in case certain topics came up.

It's important to know your values and your goals so you can assess options. Ask yourself, "Is this option going to help me towards my goals or will it hinder?" "Does this activity fall in line with my values or will I be brought into a situation that will cause me to compromise my personal ethics?"

There are a few "quick" decisions that are life-altering, but they are few.
Some are "moral" decisions like those about drinking and sex. You need to know how you're going to respond in certain situations before you get there. Sex can lead to pregnancy. So a moment of pleasure can change someone's life forever. Not having a plan about drinking and then ending up driving while intoxicated can cause an accident that changes someone's life forever.

Other are much more rare, but might have to do with a family member ending up in the ER with a life-threatening injury or needing to be placed on life-support. Something really drastic. If you are young, those kinds of decisions are unlikely to be your responsibility. But if you are very nervous about it, you could always talk to your parents. Again, these decisions can be thought out ahead of time.

The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to imagine as many possible scenarios as you can and think through them ahead of time. I do this ALL THE TIME, even for ridiculously minor decisions like what I might like to eat at a restaurant.

Another things about thinking through things ahead of time. Ask knowledgeable and wise people lots of questions. Be humble and admit you don't know things but want to learn (just like you did here.) This will help you to look at angles of a situation you might miss if you didn't know better.

All that does not necessarily eliminate "regret." There are always times when one might question if he or she did the "right" thing. But thinking through things ahead of time will reduce regret. It also helps to categorize decisions into "minor" and "major." Relax about making a "wrong" minor decision. If you experience discomfort, say "oh well, live and learn."

And, remember too that things happen the way they are "meant to be" and that not all negative experiences are due to a bad decision on your part. If you mess up and hurt someone, apologize and make things right to the best of your ability. Seek forgiveness and be gracious to all.

If I have to make a decision in a hurry, I just wing it. I do what instinctually comes to me.

There are times when "too much thought" could actually be a detriment.

Personality is definitely a factor. I do not like to "wing it" at all, and rarely do I feel that too much thought hinders me. When I do "wing it" it is usually on things that I've already practiced or thought about in some way. I almost *never* have a situation where I'm going on instinct alone.

I notice lots of patterns in life, both in people's behaviors and words and in what kinds of outcomes result from other people's various decisions. I make LOTS AND LOTS of observations, and it all gets logged in my brain. So, if I am "winging it", those things come to me. I

I would absolutely agree that experience is essential--even "unconscious" experience--in order for one to "wing it" successfully.

It's "winging it" on a superficial level--but when one looks deeper, there always less randomness than what meets the eye.

Same here