Life, in all of its myriad forms, is about making tough choices. It is about reaching a fork in the road and making decisions that are difficult if not impossible to change.

It is all but impossible for any of us to have a meaningful life without making a tough decision, and there is a good chance that you have made a choice that impacted your life so much that you wonder what would have happened if you had taken a different path.

This is a pivotal part of being a leader, and the mark of the best and brightest in a particular field is the ability to make decisions other people do not feel comfortable doing.

However, whilst you cannot stop a hard choice from being hard, there are ways beyond simple heuristics to make your decision-making easier, and life coaching can help give you the strength and the tools to choose and choose wisely.

The first step is to avoid thinking in absolutes. Part of the reason why people get paralysed when making decisions is that they don’t want to make a “wrong” decision.

All decisions involve some form of opportunity cost; if you go in one direction, inevitably you are not going in the other direction, after all. If you choose to pursue a completely new opportunity, you lose the security of staying put. Not all decisions that end up with negative consequences are bad choices.

Separate the aspects of your decision that are intellectual from the emotional aspects. You may want to pursue something that has the chance of making you happier, but does that come at a cost you are willing and able to pay?

Look at all of your options as well, and make sure you have considered as many potential scenarios as you realistically can. Through this, you can see whether a tough decision might have a third or fourth option you can take.

Ultimately, once you make a choice, commit to making it successful. Do not waver unless there is substantial proof that you should.