2 Making decisions

Making decisions can be difficult and complicated. It can be hard to juggle different information, your feelings, the views of others and the limited sets of choices you might feel you are facing. But there are lots of different decision-making tools you can use to help you make the decision that is right for you. When faced with a decision on what course of action to take, you could start by thinking creatively and mapping your thoughts about the problem. Mind maps, which you were introduced to in Session 1, help you to visualise your thoughts and come up with new ideas using words, colours and images. In Session 1, Video 4 [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] , William talked about Tony Buzan’s (1942–2019) theory of whole brain thinking and the use of mind maps to open up the creative side of your brain.

In Session 2 you looked at ways of thinking critically about information before taking action, including expanding your sources, asking questions and using fact checking tools. In this session, Session 3, you have already learned about ways to expand the range of possibilities and explanations, by thinking like a detective and using your skills of deduction. And you have used a framework for thinking through the consequences from different perspectives. So how can you pull all these tools together to help you make decisions?