Want to start making better decisions Do this

Want to start making better decisions Do thisWant to start making better decisions Do thisDo you ever look back on your decisions and think, Why I on earth did I do that?We all make schwimmbad decisions.Buying an SUV that sucks up all your cashStarting a relationship without being in loveSaying yes to a job that youre not passionate aboutCreating products that no one needsSh-t happens. We make bad decisions (the above examples are all about me). But the funny thing is that bad decisions never seem like bad decisions in the moment.Ive been reading about the decision-making process of Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger, two of the most successful investors of all time.In Alice Schroeders biography of Warren Buffett, I read that Buffet and Munger have a learning strategy thats based on what you should avoid doing. They identify mistakes and do their best to avoid those mistakes.Ladders is now on SmartNewsDownload the SmartNews app and add the Ladders channel to read the latest career news and advice wherever you go.But as Charlie Munger saysSmart people do dumb things.You can never avoid making a mistake. However, you can avoid making the same mistake more than once.Plus, by learning from other peoples mistakes, you can make their mistakes your own. Youll learn faster that way.Dont overthinkSmart people are way too preoccupied with doing the right things. They want to have the perfect life, career, house, business, car, holiday, etc.When you put too much pressure on yourself to make the right decisions, you get analysis paralysis.I recently spoke to a friend who wanted to make a career move. I asked him to walk me through his thinking processI like the company I work for, but my job isnt engaging anymore. Ive been doing this work for four years. And sure, Ive been promoted twice, but its still the same work. So Ive been looking at other companies. But what if I go somewhere else and that doesnt work out? Ill have to move on quick. And that wont look good on my resum e.I remained silent.Just hearing myself talk leads me to another thing Overthinking it.We both laughed our assess off. I can do the same with overthinking. And I bet youve been there too.When you overanalyze every single decision, you become paralyzed. Result? Nothing. Now, thats a bad outcomeThats how people end up welchesting their lives.The only way you can stop overthinking is making yourself aware of your thinking process. When I asked my friend about his thinking, he became aware of how irrational his process was.You cant control the future. So stop thinking about it.Do this instead Make small decisions. Decide oftenI recently read Seeking Wisdom by Peter Bevelin. Its about the way Charlie Munger thinks. One of his decision-making strategies is to avoid mistakes. But that can be interpreted in different ways.You can fear decisions altogether because you might make mistakes. What happens is that you dont make decisions at all. As Munger saysThe difference between a good busines s and a bad business is that good businesses throw up one easy decision after another. The bad businesses throw up painful decisions time after time.You can interpret that Munger prozentanteil in different ways. I interpret it as followsWhen you make small decisions early, before they become big - its easy. When you put off decisions, they become big - and painful.For example, Im not happy with the email provider I use to send out my newsletter. Their support is slow, theres no good integration with my online courses platform, and readers have complained about not getting my newsletter.This is something thats on my radar for more than 1.5 years. At the time my list was less than half of the size its today. I also had only one online course. Now, I have three.The hassle of moving to another provider gets bigger every day. Had I moved early, it was easy. By now, its a painful process.In life, its exactly the same. The longer you stay in a bad relationship, the harder it gets to leav e. Its also true for your job.Earlier decisions lead to better decisionsThe earlier you make your decisions, the more chance that you make better decisions.I often say that there are no right or wrong decisions - only decisions. Thats not entirely accurate. Of course, theres a difference in the quality of our decisions. Thats the topic of another article.But heres the thing NOT making a decision is also a decision. Its a choice to put things off until another time.So in effect, youre making decisions all the time. Instead of making fewer decisions, we need to make them earlier.Because all you need are a few good decisions in your lifetime anyway. What will be your best? You only find out after, you guessed it, youve made a decision.This column first appeared on Dariusforoux.com.