How long do you take to make a decision?

We live in a very fast world and society, and there is a tendency for decisions to be fast. Very fast.

But how to make a decision in a fast way?

The main factor is not the speed. Here is an example: if you are an expert in cooking and you have almost finished a dish when someone tells you the double of people are coming, what will happen? OK, there will be some suffering internally, but as you are the expert, you will be able to devise a solution for that without worrying too much.

Now, think of the same situation with a non-expert chef, like me… It will be a disaster! Even though I may be faster than the expert…

The first thing we value, in terms of speed, is the expertise as that will make decisions faster or slower.

And yet, it is not enough. A comparison can be made between making a decision in certain areas of life and chess, as in both there are many factors influencing the final outcome. Of course, expertise will count as important, but what if the other person – or the various situations – is/are also expert(s)?

First of all, refine your expertise as it is something visible. It means training and talking with other people who are experts.

A second thing to speed decisions up is to understand your opponents. Don’t hate them, try to avoid all kinds of emotions at least for some time, even 5 minutes will be helpful, and then, within that time, reflect upon the problems you are facing.

As you can see, a fast decision will take longer than you think… There is a third tip that may help.

Along with understanding, use your discernment power. It means to make the decision first in your own mind or even in a closed scenario like a group of friends: visualize your different responses and the many outcomes that can come along with each possible decision. If you do that as a meditation experiment, it will be even more effective.

After the discernment process, you can implement whatever scenario you realized was the right decision for that moment. It will give the decision more power and probably it will be easier to make it. In other words, it will be faster.

Now it is your turn to make a decision…

Fast.