How to Make Hard Decisions

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"In all cases, emotions are humanity's motivator and its omnipresent guide." --Lewis, Amini and Lannon, MDs

"A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a love sickness. It is never a thought to begin with." -- Robert Frost

When you're stuck and can't seem to make a decision, remember the difference between a thought and feeling. We need to sort out what we think from what we feel because our feelings are what best guide our decisions.

We can gather all the thoughts, facts and data in the world, but we'll never have enough data for important decisions, or even unimportant ones, and ultimately we have to rely on our gut feelings.

"In small matters, trust your head," said Freud, "and in large matters, your heart."

What is a feeling? A feeling is "a lump in the throat"--a bodily sensation first, and when we get in touch with how our body is reacting to the situation at hand, we have a touchstone for what's really going on.

We can ask ourselves, "How would I feel if I took Plan A?" or we can envision ourselves doing Plan A and see how our body reacts, or we can ask, "If I did Plan A could I sleep at night?"

Good decisions are values-based and our feelings guide us to a solution that works for us. The really important things in life are "never a thought to begin with".

You can look at the attire of the job candidate, check her references, assess her grammar, put her through a stress test, and read her resume carefully, but the decision of whether to hire her or not is going to be based on that nagging feeling in the back of our mind that it just isn't a good fit, or that inexplicable 'something' that tells you this candidate is exactly right for the job.

In order to make good decision, turn up the volume on your intuition, and go with it.