Making our own choices is very important as it gives our life meaning and influences the way we feel.

While we focus on moving forward towards a sustainable future that benefits everyone, the choices we make now matter more than ever before.

Incorporating and emphasising choices that curtail impacts on the environment will help significantly in the battle against the climate crisis. The way you choose spend your money, travel, and even eat all contribute not only to your own life but to the bigger overall picture.

Choosing to make the right informed decisions is one of the great moral challenges we face; if we don’t, we risk endangering everyone who is alive now and also future generations. Here we bring you loads of actionable tips and tools to help you improve your decision-making skills.

As author, coach, motivational speaker, and philanthropist Tony Robbins once said:

“Your life changes the moment you make a new, congruent, and committed decision.”

Tools

This handpicked list of top decision tools includes popular features and website links for both open free and paid software. The tools will help you to map out all the possible alternatives to your decision, any costs plus chances of success or failure. These decision-making techniques will help you weigh your options and are especially relevant to business-related choices. 

Do you agonise over the smallest of decisions or are you one to decide straight away and quickly get on with other things? Either way, this quick-fire advice is sure to help you reach a 'good' decision that works for you whether your personality type is indecisive or decisive. 

Be systematic

Some of your decisions will be so routine that you make them without giving them much thought. But difficult or challenging decisions demand more consideration. These are the sort of decisions that involve uncertainty, complexity, and high-risk consequences. This article outlines a process for combining problem-solving and decision-making when making complex decisions in challenging situations. 

Tips

Get a mentor

We've said it before, but being mentored can go a long, long way to helping you set your path and making the best decisions to reach your end goal. Join our online sustainability mentorship community and you can mentor or be mentored. May the good choices be with you!

Make your mind up!

Most of us may not realise that complex mental processes lie behind how we make our decisions. This New Scientist guide to making up your mind explains the fascinating discoveries that psychologists and neurobiologists have found that may help us to make better choices.

Even deciding to do nothing is a choice, although not the most productive one. If you find it difficult to know what the right choice is see these tips. And these strategies are pretty helpful if you need to make a big decision. Not all of them will work for every person or for every decision, but they all have something to offer to help you clarify your thinking and avoid decision paralysis. And read here how to overcome procrastination and get down to work!

Fortunately, everyone can take steps to become better decision-makers and these nine daily habits can help you do just that. 

Understand the psychology of choice

Choice is our ability to make decisions when presented with two or more options. But choice is difficult because it also represents sacrifice. Choosing something inherently means giving up something else. The psychology of choice explores why we subconsciously make the decisions we do, what motivates those decisions, and what needs these decisions are meant to satisfy.

This easy-to-understand guide to choices will help you understand the roles of bias, priming, and other psychological quirks in decision-making.

How to make tough decisions faster and not regret them later

Decisions, or indecision, can cause a drag on your time for days, weeks, months, or even years. But choosing well doesn’t have to mean choosing slowly. These practical strategies will help you cut down the time it takes to make tough decisions. 

Trust your gut

There is a connection between our gut and our brain, which is where terms like “butterflies in the stomach” and “gut-wrenching” originate from. This article explores why and how you should listen to your gut and gives some concrete tips on how to make sure you’re making the most out of your gut instincts.

It’s also important to get the facts in a word that changes so swiftly, acknowledge and get past your fears and even embracing making mistakes can be useful when forming your decisions. 

Now you have all these tools and tips at your fingertips, see our suggestions on the key choices that you can make today to make big and meaningful differences for our future.