Everyone who knows me knows how passionate I am about my Jamaican heritage. I was born in the United States by chance and I guess a little bit of destiny but my heart belongs to my country of heritage which is Jamaica.
Episode 202 explores the concept of decision-making. The episode features guest speaker Dr. Timothy Yen, who is a psychologist and author of Choose Better: The Optimal Decision-Making FrameWork. In this episode Dr.Yen shares his framework on how to make better decisions in our lives. Dr. Yen hopes to help readers and clients achieve confidence in their decision making process and eliminate the stress and confusion that some people experience when they have to make a decision.
Decision-making looks different for everyone. You could be someone who wasn’t taught how to make good decisions growing up, or you could be naturally indecisive. Sometimes we make decisions based on emotions and sometimes our decisions are based on how we think others will react to our choices. Regardless of what leads you to a particular decision, the outcome will always have an impact on your life so it is important to put thought into your decision-making process.
Below we have put together five tips that will help you in your decision-making process. Some are related to Dr.Yen’s framework, and some are what we here at The Oh Hell No Podcast use in our daily decision making process.
01
We encourage you not to make decisions based on what people think. The potential outcome of your choices should be based on what you know to be true. Making decisions based on factual information creates space for you to make a healthy and realistic decision.
02
When making a hard choice, it’s important to have a birds-eye view of the matter. A bird’s-eye perspective will give you a chance to see the situation outside of your shoes. Often when we take ourselves out of the equation we can see the full scope of a decision and its vantage points. This tool is great when others will be affected by the decision you make. Placing yourself in their shoes will allow you to make a fair decision.
03
Compromising your boundaries for others when making a decision can be detrimental to you. Don’t give up your boundaries to make others happy, or to satisfy their intentions, if you don’t agree with them. Your moral compass should always remain true to who you are and what you believe to be right or wrong. Right and wrong look different for everyone, but anything that involves a crime, hurting others, or has ill intentions should never be a choice. If you know that you won’t be able to look at yourself in the mirror in the years to come and feel good about the choice you made, that is a sign that you probably should choose differently.
04
Having and applying a certain level of emotional intelligence to your decision making process will help you avoid making risky decisions. Emotionally intelligent people have an understanding of their emotions and the importance they play when making decisions. A good decision-maker knows that emotionally charged responses don’t yield positive end results. Emotionally charged responses often end with feelings of regret when the emotional state of the person settles. We have to be self aware and give ourselves time to resolve our emotions before we make any important decisions.
If you want to learn more about emotional intelligence check out this episode regarding Emotional Intelligence: https://www.buzzsprout.com/898741/2916661
05
Reality factors help us make decisions because we can assess what is real and actually happening or has happened as opposed to what we wish, heard or thought happened. Regardless of how we feel, reality is reality and it cannot be altered. For example, many people believe that covid-19 is a hoax, but the reality is people have died from it and continue to in real-time. So when you decide to go outside without a mask and no hand sanitizer you are leaving yourself open to the possibility of catching covid. An opinion doesn’t negate the reality of a situation. So make your decisions based on reality and not what you hope or wish to be true.
We hope that this list is helpful, remember, we are always one decision from a totally different life, so choose wisely.
Written By Jazsmine Jackson
On episode 201 Amira Alvarez shared some important points about self worth and how we can all get to our next level when we invest in ourselves. This episode sparked some interesting conversation around abundance and self worth. Has there ever been a time where you’ve felt guilty for spending money on yourself? Maybe there have been several times and you’re replaying every recent moment in your life where you’ve denied yourself something you wanted. Perhaps you’re a person who doesn’t think you deserve to splurge on yourself or you rather spend money buying things for others.
We want you to know it’s okay to spend money on yourself without feeling guilty about it. Whether it’s a pair of shoes you saw in the department store window or paying for a class to better your income—you are worthy of that investment.
