What to do when you make a bad decision
Parent Post
We’ve all made bad
We’ve all made bad decisions. In the moment, it seems like you made the right call. But later, the impact sets in, and you realize your judgment was cloudy.
Although we can’t go back in time and change our choice, we can lessen the impact it has on us. Here are actionable tips for surviving a poor decision.
Create a decision-making process
Create a decision-making process for the future.
The next time you’re confronted with a big decision, use this seven-step decision-making process:
- Identify the decision/problem.
- Collect information that will assist in your decision-making.
- Consider various solutions.
- Weigh the evidence for each potential solution.
- Make your decision.
- Take action on that decision.
- Review the decision once action has been taken.
Accept your emotions.Suppressing your
Accept your emotions.
Suppressing your emotions will get you nowhere. It’s important to first focus on how you feel.
Ignoring or pretending leaves the pain open. If you cut yourself, you wouldn’t pretend that it didn’t happen or that you don’t care.
Consider going to therapy, which can help you work through what happened. You can also journal your emotions or speak with a close confidante.
Accept your regret.After making
Accept your regret.
After making a bad judgment call, your mind will likely be flooded with regret. This regret, it turns out, can actually be a powerful tool.
Regret helps you remember things you want to avoid in life and helps you make better decisions.
So accept it and move forward.
Focus on the cold,
Focus on the cold, hard facts.
Take a step out of the emotions and stress to look at the facts of the situation. Ask yourself: What is currently happening? What do you really want?
You might struggle to be objective. If that happens, write about the situation or get outside perspective by talking with a close one.
If your regret is
If your regret is all-consuming, try practicing gratitude.
We all have regrets but one way to see the positives is by practicing gratitude.
Each morning, make a list of three or five things you’re grateful for. This will help lessen the grip the regret has on you.
Don’t let the bad
Don’t let the bad decision consume you.
It’s important to mentally separate yourself from the decision. Doing so can help you strip it of its power.
You need to decide, right when the mistake happens, that you’re going to learn from it and use it as a momentum-builder to move forward.
Forgive yourself.Don’t be too
Forgive yourself.
Don’t be too hard on yourself in the wake of a poor decision. We become our own worst enemy with poor decisions.
Use the failure of your bad decision as leverage for future success since mistakes are essential for success.