by Diane Halpern, California State University
and Mary LaMay, Loma Linda University
© 2000, Peregrine Publishers, Inc., All Rights Reserved
Imagine you have made it to your senior year at college, and you can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. As graduation approaches, you realize that the light represents not an end but another beginning. What happens after you graduate? Do you take a job and begin a new career or continue your education in graduate or professional school? Will you stay in the same area or move to a new city? Do you use your savings to pay back current school loans or increase your debt load to continue your education? None of these decisions will have simple dichotomous (yes/no) answers. Instead, each will open up a multitude of new choices.
It's no wonder, then, that we sometimes find ourselves overwhelmed with all of the possible alternatives when we have important decisions to make. Not only are we faced with the alternatives themselves, but we often must deal with considerations, the multiple variables that affect each alternative and influence the way we respond. So how do we decide what is the right decision when there are so many possibilities and so many considerations that the task becomes overwhelming?
This activity introduces you to the decision-making worksheet, a reasoned way to choose among alternatives when making a decision. It's a handy tool that will help you sort through your options and make sound decisions when you face difficult choices. Worksheets force you to be efficient—to frame your decision clearly and concisely so that you no longer feel overwhelmed.
