"The connection among the decisions you make lies not in what you're deciding, but in how you decide."
 

"Ask yourself what you most want to accomplish and which of your interests, values, concerns, fears and aspirations are most relevant to achieving your goal.  Thinking through your objectives will give direction to your decision making."
 

"What you decide today could influence your choices tomorrow, and your goals for tomorrow should influence your choices today."
 

"First and foremost, always focus your thinking where it matters most."
 

"Sometimes, the simple act of setting out your problem, objectives, alternatives, consequences, and tradeoffs, as well as any uncertainties, risks or linked decision factors, will fully clarify the decision, pointing the way to the smart choice."
 

"Be proactive.  Seek decision opportunities everywhere."
 

"Sometimes, the process of thinking through and writing out your objectives can guide you straight to the smart choice - without your having to do a lot of additional analysis."
 

"Whenever you feel that your decision process is bogging down or heading off course, always focus back on your objectives.  They'll keep you on the right track."
 

"Remember the old saying, 'If you don't know where you're going, any route will get you there'."
 

"Setting high aspirations stretches your thinking.  High aspirations force you to think in entirely new ways, rather than sliding by with modest changes to the status quo."
 

"One idea leads to another, and the more ideas you entertain, the more likely you are to find a good one."
 

"When you choose, you may know what might happen, but you won't know what will happen."
 

"Clearly defining the possible outcomes or categories of outcomes will help you in judging the chance or likelihood that each outcome will occur."
 

"When a good opportunity feels too risky, share the risk with others."
 

"All decisions affect the future, of course."
 

"Given time, too, your subconscious will aid your decision process, mulling over the problem and prompting solutions even as you attend to other things."
 

"Most important, always remember, the only way to exert control over your life is through your decision making."

Written by John S. Hammond, Ralph L. Keeney, Howard Raiffa
Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions

More Motivational Quotes:

• Alex Lickerman

Research shows that people who take on difficult goals outperform people who take on easy goals, placing difficult goals, in many cases, paradoxically within closer reach than easy ones.
 
• Paul McKenna

Any negative traits you identify are not really yours - they belong to your negative self-image and were programmed into you when you were a child.  By identifying them honestly, you are about to let them go!
 
• Robin Nixon

When you perceive yourself as lacking in courage you inevitably end up taking the safe options, missing out on opportunities that could enrich your life.