Decisions are constant part of our lives. Every minute, every hour, every day we make hundreds of decisions that range from trivial to life changing. Our decision making stretches to what to eat and what to dress as well as what brand of tooth past to use. On a different level we decide who our friends are, where we live and who we share our lives with. On another level our decision making extends to what we say and how we say it, what we listen to and what we think about. There are still deeper levels of decision making such as deciding what to believe in, what we dedicate our lives to and what defines us as human beings. There are also matters that are decided for us that we don’t have any say in, such as: we need to breathe to live-the planet constantly turns- the seasons change- aging happens-we need to sleep, and… it was also decided for us by the system that we find ourselves in, that we need money in order to live, and therefore need to find the source of money which we call work, which happens to occupy the large majority of our life, which affects our… decision making process.

Here are some very core questions about this subject:

1. What affects our decision making process?
2. To what degree are we conscious to our decision making process?
3. Is it possible to have an effective decision making training?

This is a vast subject that requires think tank on many levels as it addresses core issues that affect our lives each and every day. Decision making ultimately deals with what human beings do in their personal and collective lives and what systems they use to get things done. When you try to understand the nature of the decisions you get to another depth, which is trying to understand why humans do what they do. It is safe to say that we are the sum total of the decisions that we make in our lives. On a personal level each person is the manifestation of their decision making up to date. On a corporate level the company is the sum total of the decisions that were made by the people who make up the company, now and in the past. On a society or national level, it is defined by the collective decision making of the people who make the society or the nation, now and in the past.

Decision making is possible and necessary because we humans have been provided with a great gift of choices. It is very important to realize that choices provide freedom and options on the one hand and require accountability and responsibility on the other. This must be perceived as the core basis for decision making training. The freedom that choice offer require a level of decision making that is responsible to ourselves, to others and to the environment we find ourselves in. This is another core matter that will be written about elsewhere.

Answering the Core Questions

1. What affects our decision making process?
   
   

   Anything from our upbringing, to environment, to national indoctrination, to style of family, to style of education, to religious beliefs, to our life’s belief system, to gender, to past experiences, to what we like, to what we don’t like and to much, much more.
   
   It can be said that our past determines the level of our current perceptions and future decision making, at core, and consequently it affects how we think about ourselves and everything else. Unless, we learn to stay open to the needs of every new moment without limitations or conditions. For example, if in your upbringing you were in a creative, open environment where you were encouraged to produce your own ideas and you were listened to, you will tend to think out of the box and make decisions that are in line with new options and changes. If on the other hand you were brought up in a constrictive environment where you were discouraged from thinking for yourself, you will likely tend to look for answers from others and not trust your own intelligence, while making decisions that maintain a status quo. It is important to note here that the level of decision making changes often when people are caused to think according to the bigger picture, often triggered by finding themselves with their back to the wall, they suddenly see and perceive much more and are able to make wise decisions.

2. To what degree are we conscious to our decision making process?
   
   

   In my humble opinion we are mostly unconscious to our decision making process. However, there needs to be a distinction between the different levels of decision making as there are many trivial decisions that we make everyday, that it is practically impossible to be conscious of, on a broad basis.
   
   However, where deeper levels of decision making are concerned, say in the professional environment many people seem to think that they are conscious of their decision making process, when in fact they use a very limited consciousness, which is either based on past experience or somehow they are open to and can understand, but very seldom do they use broad consciousness that extends to short and long term consequences of their decision making process.
   
   So I would say that there is, at best, a limited level of consciousness to important decisions because of too much personal bias and too little cooperation and true team work. Incidentally, team work is the way to make up for limited personal perceptions and a better decision making process.
   
   There needs to be however a system in a person, pre-decided upon, that serves as their Guiding Light of decision making in relation to the important issues of life. A system they have decided upon that will be the core value of all their important decisions.
   
   What such a system then does is to cause Core Consciousness that deals with basic decisions rather then a peripheral consciousness that has to deal with thousands of items.
   
   This system is taught by The Thinking Coach in training seminars on decision making.

3. Is it possible to have an effective decision making training?

   Absolutely! decision making training is very effective as it deals with core issues that have significant effect upon performance.
   
   No, it’s not a quick fix formula for the many reasons stated in this article, but people can change very quickly these days if their attitude is right!