Every day we make hundreds of small decisions. We start most mornings with choices about what to wear, what to eat, whether to go for a walk or stay curled up in bed for an extra half hour. These choices are easy(ish), and hardly cause a ripple in our consciousness. They are pure no-brainers, and appear to lack any significant consequences.

If only the same could be said for making big decisions.

To send the kids to public or private school?

To relocate for work or stay put?

To stay in your relationship or move on?

Each of these choices have competing factors that need to be considered – complications that are lot easier to suppress than address. Indeed, as soon as something more than our breakfast satisfaction is at stake, many of us freeze up and bury our heads in the sand. We avoid that decision like. the. plague.

And while avoiding the risk that making big decisions entails feels safe, delaying an important decision can also create anxiety and frustration – there is only so long that you can cope with the added weight on your mind.

Been putting off a significant choice? Here are our tips for making a big decision today.

Do your research

It goes without saying that before making a big decision, it is important to understand the ins and outs of every side of the story – and to test the waters wherever you can. For example, if you are considering moving to a new city, spend a couple of nights in a hotel and explore the neighbourhood. If you are thinking about taking your divorce settlement to court, speak to friends who have been through similar legal proceedings.

Knowledge is power – and when it comes to decision making, we need all the help we can get!

Weigh up the pros and cons

A simple but undervalued way to go about making big decisions is to write up a pros and cons list. Once you have separated the good and the bad outcomes, evaluate the list in terms of how many points are in each column, as well as the weight that each point carries.

This will allow you to clearly visualise what each side of the equation offers, and whether or not the implications of the cons are worth the pros.

Proconlists.com is a useful online tool that allows you to write out your list and give a weighted value to just how important each aspect of your decision is. The site then calculates exactly what your best outcome according to the list should be.

Talk it out

Our emotions and proximity to difficult issues tend to cloud our judgement and render making big decisions seemingly impossible. Often, the best way to gain clarity in a murky situation is to speak to a trusted family member or friend. Talking an issue out means that you need to really consider your position on a matter in order to vocalise it, and also allows you to see your decision from a different perspective.

Your friend may say what you have been thinking all along, or may bring up a point that had totally escaped your thought process previously. Whatever the case, bouncing ideas off another person is likely to help you to understand your options and place you one step closer to making a decision.

Flip a coin

If, after speaking to a friend and creating your pros and cons list, you are still struggling to find clarity, an easy way to understand what you really want is to flip a coin.

Heads = Yes.

Tails = No.

No, we aren’t joking! But this isn’t an ordinary coin toss either…

Instead of relying on what side faces up after you flip the coin, think about what face you want the coin to land on. If you get a sinking feeling and insist “best of three” when tails appears, chances are that the answer you really desire is “yes”.

Make Peace

When making big decisions, we often hesitate because we are afraid of making the wrong choice; of looking back in 5 years with regret.

But in the end, there is no way of knowing what the future holds. Circumstances and people change; nothing is for certain. All you can truly know is that you never make a choice with the intention of changing things for the worse.

So rather than worrying about what you may regret, accept that the future is unpredictable, and that uncertainty is inescapable.

Stop putting it off – take the leap of faith and make your big decision today.