How to make a wise choice

How do you make a wise choice? The first thing is not to feel overwhelmed. Step back from the emotion of the situation and try to clarify what’s going on. Use the WISE framework to ask yourself these questions:

Widen your view
·     instead of ‘either/or’ or ‘whether-or-not’, what other options are there?
·     what is most important to me right now?
·     in what ways could my opinion be incorrect?
·     who has solved this problem before? (google it!)

Interrogate the reality of the situation
·     what would have to be true for each of these options to be the best possible choice?
·     what am i prepared to give up for this option to become a reality?
·     what’s the biggest obstacle to this being the right choice?
·     in what ways could this response fail?

Sense the future you want to create
·     in the current moment and looking forward to the next two to three years, what future do I want to create?
·     where in my own being and in my environment can i find the seeds of the future now?
·     what is the essence of this issue? what is my deep knowing about this issue?
·     what might other people think or feel who are watching me make this decision?

Enact a way forward
·     what can I start doing now?
·     what is an appropriate threshold for me to take action?
·     in what ways can i experiment or prototype these options?
·     what can I learn from this?

Based on your answers to these questions ask yourself:

“What is wisest choice to make?”

You’re likely to get closer to choosing the “right” path than if you had just added up the “Pros” and Cons” or gone with your instinct!