How can we make better choices?

First, you can make better choices by becoming an expert in a subject.
Do you want to become an expert in making financial decisions? Become an expert financial advisor. However, as much as we’d like to become experts about every decision we need to make during the course of our lifetime, the reality is that we can’t. So, we need some other ways to make choices in areas that we are not experts in.

Second, we can take advantage of the expertise of others.
This one should be obvious but know that for just about anything you need to make a decision on, somewhere out there is a person who can guide you through the process of making a great decision in that area. The key here is to get over the fact that you don’t need to have all the answers yourself, as we all like to think we do from time to time.

Third, there are times when it might make sense to turn choice into a collaborative activity.
For instance, you might convene a group in your company to make a decision on the direction of a certain project. Hearing and interacting with many viewpoints will ultimately help you make a better decision.

Fourth, you can turn to the wisdom of the crowds.
Google reviews or Amazon product rankings are examples of this. It is much easier to make a choice when you know how people feel about a product or a service. Keep in mind that it doesn’t mean you have to make the same choices as the market as a whole – perhaps you enjoy movies that the market usually scores very low. Using the wisdom of crowds gives you perspective to what choices others are making.

Fifth, you can categorize options so that instead of 100 choices, you narrow it down to 5.
An obvious example is a department store dividing it’s goods into departments so that the number of choices is significantly narrowed down depending on what you are looking for. On the Internet, this is most often seen through the use of keywords and “tags” that allow you to filter through content on the web, and allows you to ignore irrelevant options.

Lastly, and most often ignored, is the opportunity to learn from ourselves.
Reflecting on how we’ve made our past decisions, and the biases we may have used to make them, is a key in determining how to approach future decisions.

We cannot avoid choice, even if we wanted to. We make hundreds of choices a day, and they literally shape the outcome of our life.

How can you make better choices?