making better decisions - 17. Measure the decision against your own goals
Dealing with Difficult People
This email is one in a series on decision-making. The first one is an introduction to the series.
17. Measure the decision against your own goals
Sometimes when you think about your values in life, and the goals you want to achieve, the obvious choice will emerge.
On occasion a choice will emerge, and can then be immediately discarded.
The eulogy test poses the question: "What do you want people to say about you at your funeral?" - in each of the major roles you play in your life (child / parent / friend / family member / person of faith / spouse / community member / employee / boss), will this decision help you draw nearer to the kind of eulogy you want to have?
In terms of personal values, thinking over the key moments in your life where you have felt really positive or really negative, and looking for similarities and differences between them can be more efficient than running through a massive list of positively-framed values and seeing which ones resonate.
Having worked out what your values are, does this decision interact with your values in a significant way? Not every decision will, but every decision is an opportunity to make a choice that aligns with your values.
It seems very simplistic, but can be a way of breaking the deadlock when trying to choose between two options.
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Have you made a list of personal values? What surprised you about the result of making the list?