How to overcome bad choices

Everyone is guilty of making inappropriate choices at times, based on bad information, stubbornness, or unwillingness to use critical thinking skills. There are several processing functions that can keep people from making the best choices that can be made. Pretty much everyone has made a bad choice in either their personal life or their business life. Some reasons why inappropriate choices are made stem from: Lack of information -- At times, poor choices are the result of a lack of information. Having the right information and enough information can go far in creating the ability to make good choices. Don't be shy about asking questions, so you can understand your options, and don’t be afraid to question things if something doesn’t feel right. Need for control -- Some people cannot let go of control, which can stifle their ability to bring in other talented people to contribute to a project. Having other opinions and facts is always helpful in making educated choices. Letting other people express their ideas and thoughts may challenge your own thinking, but with this challenge is the opportunity for clarity and expansion. Need to be liked - Other people have an emotional need to be liked that is stronger than other needs. They have difficulty saying no when they should. A person who is fearful that people may not like them will often make choices based on what they think other people want them to do. Identifying whether this emotional need is running your decision making process will help increase your ability to make better choices. Inability to be objective -- The ability to put one's self into another's shoes is central to the objectivity. Admitting that your own subjective experiences might not be the same as others, or society as a whole, is the first step in being able to be objective when making good choices and sound decisions. The second step is the ability to set emotions aside and deal with the facts prior to choosing a direction, let’s say for a project. The final step for objectivity is the ability to keep the subjective experiences and emotions in check during any process. Inability to let go -- An example is continuing to invest a lot of time or money on a project when it is going nowhere due to the amount of money or time expended. In economics and business, this is called "sunk costs". It refers to the fact that most people will consider sunk costs when making a choice, when in reality they should only consider future costs when deciding whether they continue or scrap a project that is not working. Learning why bad choices are being made will go far in overcoming unproductive or inappropriate choices because identifying the cause of missteps can prevent future errors of judgment. A person has to be very self-aware to accept when they have issues with the above, but admitting mistakes and taking corrective action produces growth and is the making of a great leader.