Name: Decision Making: 4 Simple Tests To Help You Make The Right Decision
Uploaded: 2017-02-08T00:31:01.000Z
Duration: 10 min 4 s
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And I can do this, which… aren’t we recording?

Hey, it’s Marie Forleo and you are watching MarieTV, the place to be to create a business

Now, if you’ve ever wondered whether your anxiety about a decision is your intuition

telling you “no” or just a fear that you really should overcome, today’s episode

This question comes from Kouros and he writes:

I appreciate all the incredible wisdom you share on your show.

Here is my Q. How can you tell if the anxiety you’re feeling over a decision is an intuitive

no or a sign of a comfort zone you need to break through?

Most of us have had that experience of facing a big decision and feeling really torn up

You know, sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between a fear that’s holding you back from

a growth experience versus an intuitive hunch that’s actually saving you from a big, expensive

You know, whenever I found myself in that position, and it happens often, there are

4 tests that I put myself through to help myself get clear.

So I want to walk you through each one of them.

So here’s what I do any time I’m faced with a decision and I feel a little bit torn

I always tap into my physical body and I ask myself the question, do I feel expansive when

You have to really pay attention to your inner sensations.

And when you ask the question whether or not you want to do something, if you feel an instant

sense of dread or heaviness or something in your body just going no or you actually notice

your body subtly moving back, those can all fall under the umbrella of feeling contracted.

Now, on the other hand, you might ask yourself do I want to do this, and all of a sudden

inside you notice a very subtle shift where something feels lighter, something feels brighter.

Perhaps your physical body actually moves forward.

Or even if it sounds a little scary, something in you just feels bigger.

That would be an example of something that is expansive.

So clearly, contraction for me is a big no and expansion or expansiveness is a big yes.

Now, for me this is really the most important test there is because I believe there is intelligence

that lives in the physical body that bypasses your mind, your logic, and your ego.

You know, Shakira says my hips don't lie and I would like to extend that to say your body

But I know that everyone is not exactly like me and perhaps you don't quite have the facility

to feel your truth physically yet, in which case this next test might be for you.

Test number two, WCS or worst case scenario test.

So this one is fairly straightforward, but you would be surprised how many people don't

take the time to really drill down into the worst, worst, worst case scenario that could

possibly happen as a result from any decision and see if they can actually deal with it.

So Kouros, when you feel that pit in your stomach, here’s what I want you to ask yourself.

What is the very worst thing that could happen if this decision turned out to be all wrong,

And then here’s the part that most people miss.

How exactly, specifically, would you deal with it?

So I don't want you to just say this out loud or think through it in your mind.

What is the absolute worst thing that could possibly happen and what would that mean to

you emotionally and mentally and financially?

So is it a matter of losing some money, could you lose your job or your business?

You know, sometimes the worst thing that could happen is that you’d be embarrassed or humiliated

Once you write down the very worst things that could happen, here’s what I want you

I want you to write down the exact steps that you would take to get back on your feet.

In other words, what I want you to do is deal with that worst case scenario in advance.

You know, when we actually do this and write everything down, we realize that even if the

decision was the worst thing in the world and everything went to hell in a handbasket,

there would be something we could do to lift ourselves up and get back on our feet.

So once you write all of this down, the worst thing that could possibly happen, if it’s

beyond what you're willing to risk, then I gotta tell you, you’ve got your answer.

But if you do all these steps and you’re still a little bit confused, I want you to

Test number three, the BCS: best case scenario.

Ok, so now that you’ve faced down the very worst things that could possibly happen, we

So in other words, think through what are all the possible payoffs that might come from

Will you finally start living that dream you've been talking to yourself about forever?

Will you maybe learn a tremendous amount about yourself?

Are there financial upsides or creative upsides or freedom upsides that can only come if you

So don't just run through this in your head.

Make it clear, make it specific, make it detailed, make it super concrete.

So these first three tests that we’ve just talked about should help you find tremendous

And these are great, especially if you have to make a decision and you have to make it

But there is one more really useful test that you need to know about, and this is another

Test number four is called the work it test.

This is a really good one if you’ve been vacillating for a long time about something

So it’s based on one of my life mantras, clarity comes from engagement, not thought.