If you’re like the millions of people who struggle with making decisions, you likely have a problem with confidence—whether you realize it or not. Making decisions with more confidence has a number of benefits, but that confidence can be hard to come by. Fortunately, there are some strategies you can use to feel more confident in all your decisions (and make better decisions while you’re at it).
Why Confidence Is So Important
These are just some of the reasons why confidence in your decisions is important:
- Decisiveness. First, having confidence can make you more decisive. Being wracked with different options can lead you to analysis paralysis if you aren’t careful; in this situation, you’ll be reluctant to go in any direction, wasting time, and you’ll be dissatisfied no matter what you end up deciding.
- Anxiety and stress reduction. Feeling confident in what you’ve decided will also reduce your anxiety and stress. If you’re sure you’re making the right decision, or at least assured that you’ve done all you can, you won’t fret about the outcome nearly as much.
- Leadership and reputation. Making decisions confidently, on a consistent basis, also has value for your reputation. When your employees, clients, and coworkers see you making more confident decisions, you’ll radiate confidence, and people will respect and look up to you more.
Improving Confidence in Decision Making
These strategies can help you feel more confident when you make decisions:
- List the pros and cons. Pro and con lists are a classic for a reason. They give you a chance to list out all the positive and negative aspects of each of your decisions, and visually assess them. This will help you sort out the abstract, cloudy thoughts likely plaguing your mind, and will help you quantify the characteristics in each column. It’s much easier and less stressful to make a decision when you have firm numbers backing your choice.
- Do research and ask around. Similarly, you can increase your confidence in your decision by seeing what other people think—including experts and people you know. Research the topic as thoroughly as you can (without dwelling on it), and see if the hard facts agree with your current line of thought. You might also want to ask around, especially if you have peers or relatives who share your perspectives, industry, or background. These advisors shouldn’t dictate your decision, but they can support it or help you learn more about it.
- Read your daily horoscope (or something similar). It might sound strange, but reading your Sagittarius daily horoscope (or a horoscope for your sign) can help you feel more confident in your decision. It serves as a kind of abstract form of self-affirmation. Because horoscopes are ambiguously written, they serve as prompts for introspection, which can help you evaluate your thoughts, biases, and moods. From there, you’ll feel more confident that you’re making the right choice—or might delay your choice until you’re in a better state of mind.
- Limit the number of decisions you make per day. Decision fatigue is a real phenomenon. If you make too many decisions in a day, you’ll feel more stressed and less confident in every decision you make. You can limit the decisions you make by doing things like planning your outfits in advance, eating the same thing for lunch each day, and simplifying or automating your most important tasks.
- Make small decisions faster. You can’t eliminate all your decisions, so try to make your small decisions—the ones least likely to have a serious negative impact—as quickly as possible. Whether that’s picking what to order at a restaurant or choosing which socks to wear, making small decisions faster can help you build your confidence from scratch, and make it so you spend less unproductive time on big decisions.
- Set a timer or schedule for big decisions. Speaking of big decisions, set a timer or a schedule so you don’t waste too much time agonizing over which direction to go for your biggest decisions. For example, you could commit to finalizing your decision on Wednesday, or come to a conclusion in 10 minutes.
- Imagine the worst-case scenarios. Strangely enough, imagining the worst-case scenarios can make you feel better. Use the 10-10-10 rule to see if this decision will have possible consequences in 10 minutes, 10 months, or 10 years. Chances are, it will make the decision seem smaller, helping you make it more confidently.
Even if you employ these tips in every aspect of your life and use them consistently, you aren’t going to see a drastic change in your confidence overnight. Be patient; building confidence and making better decisions is a process that takes time, but as long as you commit to it, you’ll eventually see the results you want.