Life Decisions Is an Inevitable

¶ … life decisions is an inevitable component of being human. Every person is faced with making important decisions that have the potential to impact the trajectory of their life. To make these decisions, each individual has a unique process in which to make their choices, myself included. My process of decision making is multilayered and can vary according to the current circumstances. Any important decision I make is within the context of my personal goals and standards. After establishing my personal standards, I make decisions based on a combination of weighing the pros and cons, prioritization, and making choices based on personal interest and instinct.

The first step in my decision making process includes creating a set of goals for myself. I must have a set of goals and personal standards in order to have a context in which to base my choices. For example, I have goals of getting an education, having a career, and to have a healthy, fulfilling family life. I have constructed these goals for myself and hold myself to a standard to successfully meet them; I base important decisions within the larger context of these goals. Making the life decision to go to college was a decision made as a way to achieve one of the goals I set for myself. In the most general sense, I make every important decision in hopes to fulfill, in part, one or more of my life goals.

Although every choice I make is within the context of my goals, making important decisions are not always black and white. Using college as an example, it was a simpler process to decide to go to college because it easily fit into the realm of my personal goals. Choosing which college to go to, however, was a much more complicated process. In a situation like this, I am faced with two options and both of which support my greater goals. To make a decision, I have to revert to other decision making methods. This is when I will employ the basic process of weighing pros and cons between my options. I make a physical list of the benefits and the disadvantages of each option. I consider how each option will affect me, and how each option will meet my personal wants and needs.

After entertaining both the pros and cons of my options, I prioritize according to what is more important to me. For example, choosing a college that had my intended major and had respectable department credentials was more important to me than the quality of the cafeteria food. I prioritize the pros and cons based on how I perceive each element's ability to enhance the successes in my life. To prioritize, I consider how a decision impacts me, how quickly I intend to see results, and what implications a certain choice will have on my future. I also consider any potential consequences my choice will have.

Outside of the pros, cons, and the prioritization of strategic decision making, I also base decisions on personal interest and instinct. Although I feel more comfortable making planned, informed decisions, there are some important decisions that are made by personal interest, instinct, and these can result in impulse decision making. For me, making decisions based on personal interest can include choices based on my political and religious views. Instinct is also a major component of my decision making method. Every pro, con, and point-of-view is guided, in some capacity, by my instinct and what I deem to be correct.