Making Sensible Decisions With the Senses

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Making decisions comes easy for some and seems overwhelming for others. People who make confident choices are usually employing their senses, even if they're not aware of it. Sometimes pure logic doesn't work. What may seem logical at the time doesn't feel good or look good for the future. So how do we make sure that we're making the best possible choice available to us at the time? We put on the lab coat and dissect the situation using neuroscience! That's right, we use our senses. Let's try it.

Think about a decision you're having difficulty making and let's see if we can help you come to your senses.

Step 1. How Does It Look? Using Your Visual Sense

Write down the problem/situation and the choices that accompany the situation. To do this, I like to use a simple MindMap process. Put the "problem" in a box in the center of your paper. Now draw lines from the problem/situation to other boxes that contain all of the possible solutions. Get creative, look at your options. Use your visual sense to see the big picture. Also use envisioning, picturing the outcome of each choice. Which outcome appears to best suit your needs and desires? Which choice best follows your vision and mission for your company? Do you see any problems resulting from your choice? If you do, draw more boxes and put those problems in the boxes with lines leading back to that choice. Do you see solutions? That's right, more boxes, more lines.

Step 2. How Does It Feel? Using Your Intuition

As you look at your MindMap check in with your "gut." Again, which decision seems best suited to your values and mission? Which one feels good to you? You may experience some internal conflict with this one, so explore that conflict. Are you leaning toward a certain solution out of guilt or need to please someone else? Which decision feels best for YOU? Everyone has intuitive powers. Tap into yours by closing your eyes and listening to your body. When you put your focus on a certain solution, do your shoulders tense? Does your stomach feel uncomfortable? Perhaps you feel a lump in your throat or tension behind your eyes. Your body is trying to tell you something and can be your compass to healthy choices if you listen and allow.

Step 3. How Does It Sound? Using Auditory Senses

Talk to yourself. That's right. Say it out loud. Ask questions. Talk all you want, so what if people think you're insane? I always joke that I talk to myself because that's how I get the most intelligent responses. Sometimes hearing the problem and processing it out loud will bring different solutions into the picture. All right, so you feel uncomfortable talking to yourself. Say it out loud to someone else. If you don't want their input, just tell them so. Simply say that you need to process something out loud and ask them to be a good listener. They may like being let off the hook and you may come up with the perfect solution.

Now unless you're deciding what to make for dinner, you'll probably be able to skip the other 2 senses - taste and smell. But after you make your decision take yourself out to dinner and delight in those other senses. You deserve it!

Marla Tabaka is a life and business coach who helps entrepreneurs and small-business owners grow their companies faster. She coaches for Make Mine a Million and has 25 years of experience in corporate and start-up ventures. @MarlaTabaka