Every day we make dozens of decisions. Some of them are major and tough to make, they change our lives forever, some are easy and effortless, and we may even make them unconsciously. One of the hardest decisions I have ever made was the one concerning my professional future which starts with the education I choose to obtain.
I really admire and feel somewhat jealous towards people who know from the childhood what they want to be because this is not my case. Of course, at the time when I was facing this dilemma, I knew as much as nothing about the decision-making techniques. However, even if I did not know the names of some of them, who invented and refined them, I nevertheless used at least two of them totally unaware of it.
In the retrospective, I can easily define two of the techniques: a T-chart and cost-benefit technique (Watkins, Ryan et al.). My ever first step was to just make all possible choices visible and easy to apprehend so I started with writing down all subjects I could study. I could have extended this list to the decision matrix but I just selected two or three options that were the most acceptable for me. Then to bring further clarity to the subject I created a T-chart for every one of the remaining opportunities. However, in a complex problem of choosing a career path and education, there are a lot of nuances that should be taken into account. So, obviously, the financing question was quite crucial so I and my parents together in the simplified form of cost-benefit technique thoroughly discussed it in terms of every university that offered courses I was interested in.
My parents have always taught me to be responsible and to make life changing decisions with the utmost earnest possible. This is why all the steps were taken. However, it is important to take into account personal feelings and preferences. Sometimes they can outweigh some logical arguments and this is the reason why I do not feel comfortable applying decision-making tools to solving relationship problems, except maybe a simple T-chart. Also in decision-making, it is utterly important to thoroughly analyze the current situation and realize all possibilities. It is a mistake I made several times myself but it makes a fundament without which the decision will not be relevant and strong. However, I find simple methods of decision-making sufficient and even more efficient than the complex ones that sometimes involve complicated formulas, charts etc. they kind of shift your focus from the real problem.
References
Watkins, Ryan et al. A Guide To Assessing Needs. 1st ed., World Bank, 2012.
