How do you make big decisions? Can't stop procrastinating

[OnlyMothersInTheBuilding]

I have a couple of big, life-altering decisions I have to make next year. One is about whether to have another child and the other is where in the UK to live. This post isn't so much about the ins and outs of those particular decisions, for both decisions there are pros and cons to either choice, neither is clear cut.

As I've got older I find making big decisions like this really difficult. In the past few years I've even tossed coins to decide which house to buy and whether to take a particular job because I literally could not decide. I feel a bit ridiculous about it. But for these decisions I really want to feel I've made an active choice. So how you make big decisions like this? Instinct? Pros and cons lists? What's your process?

Like you've done in the past, I toss a coin.

Most often what happens is I suddenly know what side I hope the coin will be and I know what I want.
And if I don't get that sudden thought then I just go with the coin.

I think you can tackle decision making like this from different angles, and I would tend to use a broad range of strategies. You don't just need to choose one way. It's possible to listen to your gut and your brain at the same time, and weigh up the information both are giving you.
Some suggestions:

• Talking it through with someone, or several people
• looking at it from the perspective of being at the end of your life and which one are you most likely to regret /not regret
• Go deep into your imagination and move around in both different realities of the future and see how you physically feel about it.
• Consider whether the path you take is likely to expand you as a person or diminish you, and in what ways
• Do a tarot reading and observe how you feel about the results
• Read books/articles about the different paths you might take and see if it shifts anything for you
• Consider who each decision is likely to impact and ask for their feedback on it
• Pilot run a decision and see if anything changes (can't do this with having kids obviously but you can do it about trialling somewhere new to live)
• -Ask yourself if whatever decision you take it is likely to be a wise decision. What makes it wise?