make decisions

Tag Archive for make decisions

The Art of Rapid Problem Solving

August 12, 2024 John Uncategorized No comments

The Art of Rapid Problem Solving

When you think of problem solving, what comes to mind? Or, What ideas or images pop up for you when you hear the words “problem solving”?

Most of us might see someone sitting at a desk or scratching their head and chewing a pencil.

We would approach these challenges in a gradual way. And we’d take a gradual approach to solving them.

In reality though, this isn’t always the case.

Often, we’ll have to solve problems in a hurry and, on the fly. And this is when things can get difficult.

Here GenuLines looks at why this ability is so important and what you can do to improve it.

Action Sports

The best place to study ‘rapid problem solving’ is in the world of action sports. This will include sports like snowboarding, surfing, racecar driving and others.

These involve last-minute reflexes and reactions. You might think that these actions are automatic and in the moment.

Even so you can still consider them forms of decision making.

For instance, it might be pure impulse to go around an obstacle. But you still need to think about which way around that obstacle you want to go.

This could include which route would be quicker. Or which has the most obstacles further on and which will make it easiest to balance as you travel.

The decisions you might face are countless.

In every-day life we make decisions like this all the time too – right down to knowing when to cross the road. So how can you improve this kind of decision-making process?

Flow States

The answer might lie in ‘flow states’. A flow state is a psychological phenomenon.

It lets you make rapid but accurate decisions.

The kinds you would otherwise not be capable of. During these states you’re completely focused on the matter at hand.

And your performance is flawless though you’re almost not thinking about it. The world seems to slow down, and you become untouchable.

It’s a lot like the zone you enter when you’re very focused on a work project.

The fuel for this state is a large number of neurochemicals. These include dopamine, norepinephrine, anandamide and endorphins.

It’s much like the fight or flight response (which tends to deaden creativity). Even so you remain relaxed and in control the whole time.

How to Get Into Flow

So how do you get into flow? The answer seems to be that you need to be completely focused on what you’re doing.

And this happens when you’re a) very passionate about it, or b) you believe your life is on the line. To be better at rapid decision making you need to be 100% present.

And as with anything, the best way to do that is to practice. Practice while doing things that mean a lot to you.

And look for your rapid decision making to improve!

JohnK 8/12/2024
chiforyourself.com

Overheard: “All problems become smaller when you confront them instead of dodging them”

~ William F. Halsey

What Are You Doing with Your Life? Tips for Figuring It Out

October 3, 2022 John Uncategorized No comments

Yo want to make good life choices. But you can’t figure out where to start.

Get some ideas today from GenuLines and then get going and start mapping it out.

What Are You Doing with Your Life? Tips for Figuring It Out

Do you often find yourself wondering what to do with your life? Many people reach a point where they feel they lack direction.

Instead of living life to the fullest, they only go through the motions.

If this sounds like you, there are things you can do to help you get out of the rut. Below, you’ll find some fabulous tips for figuring out what it is you want from life.

Consider Your Passions

If you want to know what direction to go in, it’s helpful to think about the things you’re passionate about. The things that motivate and inspire you will change from time to time.

For example, what you want today may look very different from what you wanted a few months ago. We change and adapt over time according to our experiences.

This means to keep a direction in life, we need to assess what it is we want. Figuring out the things you’re passionate about will help you to understand where to go next.

And what you need to do to get there.

Address Your Fears

Even if you know what it is you want to do, you might be stuck because of fear. It’s one of our most powerful emotions.

Fear can stop you from going after the things you want in life.

So, if you’re going to move forward and figure out what it is you must do in life, you’re going to need to address your fears. Figure out where the fear is coming from.

Then, be willing to work it them so you can stop it controlling your life.

Assess Your Current Goals

Do you have any goals you’re working toward right now? Chances are, if you aren’t sure what you’re doing in your life, you won’t have any goals to work towards.

This can exacerbate the problem.

You need to set goals to keep you motivated and positive. When you have something to work toward it gives you a purpose each day.

You generate more motivation to get you to where you need to be. Make sure you set small, specific goals that are easy to achieve.

You Don’t Need To Have It All Figured Out

Nobody has everything in life figured out. There will always be doubts and things you want to do better.

In fact, at times going with the flow can present you with a lot of opportunities you would otherwise miss.

Feeling like you don’t know what you’re doing in life can be lonely and frustrating. Let the above points help you figure out exactly what you want.

JohnK 10-3-2022

chiforyourself.com

Overheard: “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans”

~John Lennon

Make Better Personal Decisions

May 30, 2022 John Uncategorized No comments

You never know when one of your everyday decisions will turn out to be a life changer. It’s best to be prepared for whatever you face.

So GenuLines has prepared some pointers to guide you in the decision making process.

Make Better Personal Decisions

You’ll make countless decisions in your life. Some of these decisions are small. (What should I watch on TV?) and some of these decisions are big. (Should I take that job overseas?)

But, the outcome of a vast majority of these decisions, big or small, affects us in a very personal way.

These outcomes can have both a positive and negative effect on your life. So it makes sense that you take the time to learn how to make better personal decisions.

Under Construction

You use your brain to make decisions. That brain is the product of millions of years of development and evolution.

And it continues today.

Think of this development as the remodeling of an old house.

In the beginning, there was the original house.

Over time, you might add a garage.

Then, a family room. Then a second story.

Follow that up with a fireplace. The point is the skeleton of the old house is still there.

Over time it’s surrounded by all the new additions.

The Old and The New

Our brains evolve this way. Parts that developed a million years ago work alongside newer parts.

Newer as in those that developed ten thousand years ago.

It’s like the light sockets in the older part of the house. They’re designed for a different era, so to the older parts of our brains.

Yet, today the whole brain works to make decisions that have a direct affect on us.

Studies show that the average person makes a decision in less than ten seconds. When confronted by a life and death situation, you don’t have time to think about your next move.

Otherwise in less critical situations your best move is to take some time to think.

Easy Does It

A primary step in learning how to become a better personal decision maker is to teach yourself to slow down. Then think about the decision that’s facing you.

With any decision, big or small, you need to take the appropriate amount of time. You want to assess and weigh all the choices involved.

Look at all the angles and all the possible outcomes. Start making choices that increase you chances for positive results.

JohnK 5-30-2022

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Overheard: “The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision”

~Maimonides

Why You Might Be Failing at Self-care

November 29, 2021 John Uncategorized No comments

Are you falling down in the area of self-care? If so you’ve got a lot of company.

Time for a gentle reminder from GenuLines

Why You Might Be Failing at Self-care

You might know how important self-care is to your well-being. But it isn’t always easy to work it into your daily routine.

Here, we’ll look at why you often fail at this.

And we’ll look at the things that are holding you back.

It’s often perceived as selfish

One of the main reasons people fail to take care of themselves is because they feel it’s selfish. It could be that you feel guilty when you take time to focus on yourself.

Or, you may worry about what other people think.

It’s a total myth that self-care is selfish. In fact, it can help you to be a better parent, friend, spouse, and relative.

The more you take care of yourself, the easier you’ll find it to take care of others.

You’ll also show your children how important this is. Teaching them to take care of their own needs is a crucial life skill.

One that’s going to help them to grow up to be happier adults.

It requires effort

There’s no getting away from the fact that self-care does take some level of effort in the beginning. When you aren’t used to making self-care a priority, you’re going to need to make quite a few changes to your routine.

Coming up with a self-care plan can feel like a chore, making it easy to put off. But there are ways to reduce the effort.

For example, focusing on one thing you want to improve at a time can help. Would you like to start working out more?

Scheduling time to exercise as soon as you wake up, for example, can be a great start. Or, if you’re looking to drink more water, focus on that goal first.

If you break down your self-care tasks, it makes them much easier, reducing a lot of the effort involved.

Different approaches work for different people

Every one of us is different, and we enjoy different things. You might find more feel-good in going for a run than you do in yoga or meditation.

So you would list running as a self-care task.

If you find one approach isn’t working, try something else. Your decision should be personal and fit your own needs.

These are some of the most common reasons people fail to take good care of themselves. It can be difficult overcoming the initial barriers.

But when you understand what and how important it is, you’ll find it much easier to stick to a self-care routine.

JohnK 11-29-2021

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Overheard: “When you say ‘yes’ to others make sure you are not saying ‘no’ to yourself”

~Paolo Coehlo

Are You a Prisoner of Procrastination?

July 12, 2021 John Uncategorized No comments

We don’t like to admit to our procrastination. We say and do things that make us feel that we’re not doing it.

It’s a habit that GenuLines wants to help you break.

Are You a Prisoner of Procrastination?

Procrastination is a thief. It robs you of precious minutes and hours, before you realize they’re gone.

You wonder where the time went but it’s too late.

You intended to complete al task today but put it off until tomorrow. And there was good reason to do so, or so you thought.

False Faces

Procrastination comes in many disguises. Sometimes it’s called rationalization.

You say, “I didn’t get started on that project because the weather was too hot or I didn’t have all the parts.” You can always come up with good reasons to delay a project.

Procrastination can become a habit. Put off forming new habits and it will be your constant companion.

Priorities?

We find ways to delay a task because there are other things more important to do. These are usually excuses.

Like checking your email. Or playing an on-line game.

Or surfing the TV to see if you’re missing something interesting.

Decisions Decisions

You must recognize a real reason to delay as opposed to an excuse not to do something you don’t want to do. Ask yourself if you need to do that job.

If so then get it done and then reward yourself for a victory over procrastination. When the job is complete, step back and assess what you’ve done to see if it was worth the time and effort.

It could be you were procrastinating for good reason, but that’s rarely the case. Lack of direction can cause you to procrastinate because you’re not sure what to do next.

It Starts Here

Disorganization is a kind of father of procrastination. Get organized with a to-do list with the most urgent at the top.

Make a deal with yourself that you won’t do anything else until you do at least one thing on the list. You can make giant strides with tiny steps.

Huge projects can be daunting whether you’re writing a book or building a house. You can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel because the elephant is standing in the way.

Cut a slice out of that elephant one day at a time and soon it’ll be gone.

Be Decisive

Make a decision on what needs to done and do it. Even if it’s wrong at least you’ve done something.

Indecision can cause major delays in both your business and personal live. It’s easier to make a decision if you create a list of the pros and cons of what you must do.

Once you have a clear direction, your mind clears and the path opens up.

Fear

Fear of failure can cause procrastination. The failure lies in never getting started.

Difficult and dreaded tasks are rarely as bad as they seem at the beginning. Stop procrastinating today.

Don’t put it off until tomorrow.

JohnK 7-12-2021

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Overheard: “Procrastination is opportunity’s assassin”

~Victor Kiam

Handle Adversity: Consider Opposing Viewpoints

September 17, 2019 John Uncategorized No comments

Adversity can bring you opportunity- an opportunity to do your homework! GenuLines helps you get an edge by looking at all sides of an issue.

Handle Adversity: Consider Opposing Viewpoints

Adversity often grows out of misinformation about a situation. You know the information might not be true but you act on it as if it was.

A good way to counter this situation is to take the other end of an argument or the opposing viewpoint.

First, consider the people you have an issue with and learn more about them. Do you disagree with their political views?

Or do you have some other bias against them? For instance, religion can bring out different standpoints and beliefs.

For the sake of discussion, we’ll call your opposition adversaries. You’ll need to find out more about them.

The internet is a good place to start. If you get stuck go old school. Visit your local library and ask the reference librarian.

They specialize in research and they can help you.

Get A Read on Things

Read material that you normally would not. Do this even if you’re not facing an adversarial situation.

It gets you in the mindset of accepting differences in others. You can look for magazines and books, or you can view blogs and forums related to the topic you want to learn.

You aren’t required to agree with adversarial topics. You only want to learn more about them so that you have information on your side.

Back your arguments with information. This will make it tougher to challenge you because you can cite your sources.

Play devil’s advocate when approaching any subject. Try to pose questions that your adversaries would pose. See if you can understand why they would pose those questions.

It may get you to rethink your own beliefs.

What were they thinking?

It’s also important to understand the motivations of your adversaries. Here’s an example. Fundraisers sometimes use a lot of hype to get you to buy into their message.

When this happens, knowing the facts will help you make your decision.

Try to stay away from name-calling since this never solves the problem. You’ll come off as petty.

And you might strengthen your adversary’s position.

It’s okay to argue with people when you have the facts on your side. But, some people won’t accept those facts no matter how hard you try to get them to consider them.

When this happens, there isn’t much you can do but walk away.

JohnK 9-17-2017

chiforyourself.com

Overheard: “Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune, but great minds rise above them”

~ Washington Irving

Knowledge, Trust and Being a Know-It-All

June 25, 2019 John Uncategorized No comments

Question: When is knowledge not a good thing?

Answer: when it goes to your head!

This GenuLines offering is aimed at keeping you grounded while acquiring and using your knowledge.

(Image by Tumisu from Pixabay)

Knowledge, Trust and Being a Know-It-All

It’s said that knowledge is power. It gives you the power to make decisions and even keeps you from making the wrong ones.

But, trouble comes into play when you get to the place where you believe you know everything. That can hurt your ability to make those decisions.

At that point, you’ll lose trust in your abilities.

You’re one smart cookie. After all, you went to a respected college.

You landed a great job after graduation.

But once you start working, you come to believe that you know everything there is to know. That’s when you’re in danger of losing your edge.

You’ll start to make bad decisions which could end up costing you a job or two.

It’s important to trust yourself with the knowledge you’ve learned. Just remember, times and technologies change, and you need to be ready for those changes.

Too many people get left behind by getting comfortable in their current positions.

Companies have been trying to help by offering training or tuition reimbursement. It’s a step in the right direction.

But without appropriate corporate or college training it’s a waste of money.

There’s another danger with companies that offer internal training. They can blame employees when those employees don’t learn from the offerings.

Even if employees learn their knowledge may not boost the bottom line.

These companies don’t rate the effectiveness of their programs.

What’s worse are broad claims that their training makes them leading-edge firms.

There are some great training programs online. These include websites such as Udemy.com, SkillShare.com, and others.

Keep in mind, though, that anyone can submit training modules. This can make your selection process hit or miss.

There are good offerings with these programs. But, you’ll want to get feedback from others.

Expired knowledge

No matter where you find training there’s a chance it will be out-of-date.

And sometimes courses get high ratings based on the fact that they’re well-presented. That gives you a false sense of security.

Be selective when choosing training for the current work environment. Be critical, but don’t let it stop you from seeking training.

Good training exists. Ask people you know for suggestions.

Stay in learning mode, no matter where you went to school or how much knowledge you think you have. In a world that keeps on changing, you’ll be way ahead of the curve.

And you’ll have the tools you need to trust your decisions.

JohnK 6-25-2019

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