We all like to think that we are rational (理性的) thinkers, but poor decisions and choices are evident all around us: staying in bad relationships or boring jobs, taking up smoking, eating too much junk food; the list goes on. So why can't we make better decisions? One reason appears to be what psychologists call "decision fatigue": the idea that we all have a limited store of energy for making decisions and practising self-control. For example, if you are ground down by everyday struggles, you have less mental energy for good decisions.
However, studies point to the fact that deciding things early in the day is likely to lead to better outcomes. Most of us will have had the experience of going to bed with a seemingly unsolvable problem, only to wake up with a flash of inspiration the next morning. So decisions made when we feel least tired are more likely to be the right ones.
Another worthwhile strategy is to pretend that you are advising an imaginary friend, rather than relating decisions to your own life. This creates a distance between you and the issues in question, and can help you to think logically rather than emotionally.
People often advise making lists of advantages and disadvantages, and then prioritizing the items in each list. This can certainly be helpful, but we need to be careful not to over-think every decision. We may overestimate the value of information, and sometimes it is better simply to go with our gut instinct (直觉).
Perhaps the most important thing we can do to minimize the possibility of regret is to make sure that our decisions are in line with our life values; in other words, to have a life vision and be true to it. Instead of asking ourselves questions such as "Which option is safer?" or "Which option is best financially?", it is far better to ask "How will I feel about this when I'm 70?".
▷Sometimes it is a good idea to go with our gut instinct to make decisions, because weighing advantages and disadvantages takes great efforts.
