Decision making by changing the perspective

It is often said that “A problem well-framed is a problem half-solved”. If you are asked to decide on your favourite restaurant, would you keep thinking forever, or shift your mindset to look at the situation from a different perspective.? You can perhaps think which is nearer to your house or which is more affordable or which cuisine do you like more? We thus apply the principle of ‘cognitive reframing’- an effective, evidence-backed process of reframing or restructuring our fuzzy ways of thinking to help us arrive at a decision. By learning to recognize our distorted thinking and actively working to change these thoughts to a more positive and realistic pattern, one can feel more resilient and optimistic in the face of stress. This process has been proven effective to help minimize depression and enhance the quality of life even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Designing patterns of the mind

When making a decision do not always think of the worst that can happen. Rather, think of the positive aspects of your decision. Do not base your decision on a single attribute. It is neither worthwhile to overstress in living up to the expectations of the others. The foremost thing when trying to reframe a decision, is to have a mind full of gratitude.Be compassionate about yourself to imbibe a positive mindset. Ask yourself simple questions to help you frame a big decision into several smaller decisions. Secondly, learn to prioritise.Prioritisation, or conscious procrastination is a helpful tool. If you find it difficult to generalise, just expand your perspective. You just have to make a choice-a conscious and an informed one. For instance, if you have to choose your sixth subject for the 9th grade, do not get confused between multiple suggestions you may receive from close quarters. First choose the best two options. Now, think, which one can you manage? Which one interests and suits you the best? Never pressurize yourself with thinking all the options to be the best or all of them to be the worst! Once made, never look into the past and regret a decision. Regretting will affect your mindset when making future decisions. So, next time you make a decision, reframe it in a positive way and observe how it works. It will really make you feel less anxious.

My key takeaways

It is important to stay calm at the critical point of decision making. However most of us panic at the fear of making a wrong decision. I got some invaluable tips to implement. The most important thing of all is to embrace imperfection, as perfection is just a myth. In fact we can never make a perfect decision. We mostly falter we have too many alternatives to choose from. What matters eventually is whether we are happy or not to have made the decision. A survey estimates that we make thousands of decisions every day. We must understand which decision is more important to make and which can be made later and prioritise accordingly. We should wait for the correct time to come before we make an important decision and not hurry. When we relate the situations encountered with everyday life, we can find a fun way of integrating these for maximum benefit.

About the author

This article is contributed by Tamanna Chowdhurie, a student of Our Lady Queen of the Missions School, Park Circus, Kolkata.