Navigating Choices & Decisions

Choices are all around us. The small and large decisions we make are influenced by our perspective, experiences, and the way our brain processes. The complexity of how our minds work means that some decisions we make are logical, and some are not. Some are healthy, and some are anything but.

Decisions can be made boldly, carelessly, doggedly, creatively, emotionally, logically, laboriously, or freely. We can toss a coin or spend days deliberating about options. Decisions can be made in solitude or collaboratively. Simple choices, such as “What color shirt am I going to wear?” are juxtaposed with more challenging questions, like “Which room should I organize first?”

According to the Time article, “Making Choices: How Your Brain Decides,” neuroscience journalist, Maia Szalazvitz, said that each day we’re asked to make thousands of small and large decisions. She refers to a California Institute of Technology study that examined how the brain decides. The study indicated that there are two distinct networks for decision-making. One network analyzes the overall value, as well as the risk versus the reward, of a specific choice. The other network guides behavior.

Sometimes the decisions we make are obvious, and sometimes quite gray. This past weekend, I had the honor of being on a “Professional Ethics” panel, sponsored by the NAPO-NY chapter. We discussed the NAPO Code of Ethics and shared various scenarios and sticky situations that required us to consider the ethical choices we might make. It was fascinating to hear the diversity of ideas, perspectives, agreements, and disagreements. But again, it all came back to choice. Do we take action, and if so, what? Or, are there times when it’s appropriate to do nothing, and taking no action is the choice?

What I love most is that we have the ability to choose. These choices are available to us at every moment. Our yeses, nos, and maybes of today define our tomorrows.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. How do you decide? What allows you to be comfortable or satisfied with your decisions? What have you learned from making decisions? Join the conversation.