How Successful People Make Smart Decisions - Deepstash
How Successful People Make Smart Decisions

How Successful People Make Smart Decisions

Curated from: forbes.com

Ideas, facts & insights covering these topics:

11 ideas

·

37.3K reads

286

1

Explore the World's Best Ideas

Join today and uncover 100+ curated journeys from 50+ topics. Unlock access to our mobile app with extensive features.

Turn Small Decisions Into Routines

Decision-making works like a muscle: as you use it over the course of the day, it gets too exhausted to function effectively.

One way to avoid this is to eliminate smaller decisions by turning them into routines.

For example: Steve Jobs famously wore a black turtleneck to work every day. Mark Zuckerberg still dons a hoodie. Doing so frees up mental resources for more complex decisions.

1.36K

4.96K reads

Make Big Decisions In The Morning

Save small decisions for after work (when decision fatigue kicks in) and to tackle complex decisions in the morning, when your mind is fresh

A similar strategy is to do some of the smaller things the night before to get a head start on the next day.

1.3K

3.76K reads

Pay Attention To Your Emotions

...and you'll able to look at decisions as objectively and rationally as possible.

Strong decision-makers know that a bad mood can make them lash out or stray from their moral compass just as easily as a good mood can make them overconfident and impulsive.

1.2K

3.22K reads

Evaluate Your Options Objectively

Helpful criteria to consider:

  • How does this decision benefit me?
  • How does it hurt me?
  • Does the decision reflect my values?
  • Would I regret making this decision? Would I regret not making this decision? 

1.41K

3.44K reads

Sleep On It

Sleeping on your decision helps you clarify your thoughts for when you approach it the following day.

It also allows time for your emotions to run their course.

1.1K

2.95K reads

Don't Wait Too Long

Instead of waiting for the moons to align, successful people know that they need to have a timetable to follow in reaching their decision. 

1.12K

2.97K reads

Use Exercise To Recharge

When you find yourself stressing about a decision, try exercising. 

30 minutes of physical activity should be enough to increase your endorphins levels and return to mental clarity.

1.2K

2.68K reads

Use Your Moral Compass

Morals serve as trusted guides when your emotions are pulling you in a different direction.

1.03K

2.63K reads

Seek Outside Counsel

To avoid confirmation bias (cherry-picking only ideas that support your decisions), seek outside opinions and advice from people who bring different perspectives to your situation.

1.05K

2.42K reads

Reflect On Previous Decisions

Keep past decisions in your mind. 

Successful people are aware enough of past decisions to use them to their benefit when something similar comes up.

1.03K

2.94K reads

Mark Twain

“Good decisions come from experience, but experience comes from making bad decisions.”

MARK TWAIN

1.59K

5.31K reads

IDEAS CURATED BY

coly

Everything in life can teach you a lesson. You just have to be willing to learn.

Cole Y.'s ideas are part of this journey:

Inside The Mind of Elon Musk

Learn more about problemsolving with this collection

The importance of innovation

The power of perseverance

How to think big and take risks

Related collections

Read & Learn

20x Faster

without
deepstash

with
deepstash

with

deepstash

Personalized microlearning

100+ Learning Journeys

Access to 200,000+ ideas

Access to the mobile app

Unlimited idea saving

Unlimited history

Unlimited listening to ideas

Downloading & offline access

Supercharge your mind with one idea per day

Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.

Email

I agree to receive email updates