Effortless decision making is an art, whose skill lies not in actively trying to find the answer — rather in being so clear about the situation that the answer becomes obvious. The reason that some decisions feel difficult is because the mind is thrust into confusion. The pressure of the situation and fear of consequences become like a mist, quite literally clouding judgement. Beyond the pressure of ‘getting it right’, feelings of difficulty are often a symptom of competing desires, aversions and values within our own minds. 

Ranked values

There may be conflicts between values and desires that you had never noticed before. Perhaps, because they were never made to compete in such a unique situation. We very rarely hold absolute values as humans that we apply rigidly in the same way. Rather, we hold a collection of values ranked by context.  Each of these may be violated by another depending on the situation.

For example, someone who typically prefers to remain behind the scenes, may suddenly decide to speak out amidst injustice. Or a vegetarian may decide to consume a particular dish to not offend their host. Here they may be elevating their value of ‘being kind to the host’ above value of not consuming meat in that instance. 

The path becomes obvious

We sail through everyday decisions with ease, weighing up matters to get an outcome that is ‘good’ or ‘good enough’. Things get tricky when we have to weigh-up important things that conflict with each other, which may never have been tested before. This is when seeing all the nuances around the decision with maximum clarity is vital. Chances are that if you really see what’s at play with great clarity, the path forward will open-up effortlessly.

Effortless decision making is about self-knowledge

If we take all this to its natural conclusion, the art of effortless decision making is ultimately about the art of knowing yourself. With clear self-knowledge there can be no doubt about what really matters at any moment. 

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Harsha is a 1:1 coach and independent thinker based in London. He empowers people to find more clarity, confidence and focus in their lives — to cut through the noise, in a world so full of it. Harsha’s new book, Machine Ego: Tragedy of the Modern Mind, is now available in paperback and Kindle through Amazon.