Pillars of right decision making

Decision making is an extremely crucial factor that determines our career and how we may desire to shape our character. Oftentimes, the cognitive decision making capacity becomes clouded during stressful times. Right decision making is more than simple logical thinking. It requires certain aspects such as mentors, right peer circle, proper mindset etc. In short, these following aspects improves one's decisions.
Choosing the right crowd: Before choosing the right crowd for oneself, an individual needs to find out what s/he aspires to be.
Finding a mentor: An elder person will naturally advise better, considering that the person has enough experience from career. So, students are encouraged to consult with seniors/faculty members/alumni who can guide them by sharing their personal experiences and the challenges they had to overcome for success.
Breathing is important: During stressful situations, we get panicked that leads to decision fatigue or wrong decision making.  It is recommended by numerous experts that during extreme moments we should concentrate on calming down first, then taking actions to concentrate on the imminent task. Spending a minimum of thirty minutes for meditation can help the mind to find peace and make better decisions.
Our gut communicates too: We are more aware about ourselves more than anything else in the world, and surprisingly only a few of us truly know our actual potentials. It is vital to have a clear mind as well as motive before making an important decision for oneself. Oftentimes, our gut tells us something, whereas our mind is entirely prepared for the alternative. In such cases, following intuition, which is a defense mechanism embedded in every one of us is a better option compared to looking for a more experienced individual at the same time. Sometimes the reason remains a mystery as how we often end up making the right choice for ourselves that ultimately brings about favourable consequences in the future.
Right mindset: When confronted a vital situation that has the ability to change a person's lifestyle entirely, being in the right mindset is equally necessary for effective decision making. Refraining from making choices when a person is undergoing intense emotion, either happiness or sadness will save them from unfavourable consequences. Taking time for thinking through situations and asking the right questions such as, "if I don't do this now, will I regret later?" or "how does the decision impact my overall well-being or career?" greatly assists in better decision making process. Hasty decision making will inevitably cause great distress in the future. Therefore, taking a few moments before finally reaching a conclusion can guarantee favourable returns to everyone.
Students, ideally, should be willing to learn new things every day. It is quite normal to commit mistakes unknowingly from which it is our responsibility to learn from. One should also try to seek criticism or feedback of decisions, if it is constructive and done for a positive motive.
 The writer is a final year student of School of Business and Economics at the North South University, email: [email protected]