Why do some of us make good decisions while others struggle with bad ones? This question bugs all of us at some stage of our lives. We don't know the ingredients that we need to put in to hone our decision-making skills. It seems to us that making good choices is partly a matter of luck.

I can give you dozens of examples to show that that's not true. That there are people who seem to have a habit of making excellent decisions. Others think that it's part of their muscle memory to separate the wheat from the chaff. That they have an extraordinary skill that lets them live their best life.

Such a hunch is correct. These people do have an amazing skill which, if granted to all of us, could overturn the trajectory of our lives for the better. Know what that skill is? An ability to balance the seemingly contradictory forces of rationality and emotions regardless of what they are passing through.

These people might be going through a rough patch but still won't let self-pity get in the way of their judgments. Or everything in their life might be hunky-dory, but they still won't allow overconfidence blind them from the facts that would save them from making a wrong decision.

Here we give you some highly practical tips to make better decisions:
1. Overcome 'Analysis Paralysis'
Let's start with the basics: analysis paralysis is used to describe a situation in which the decision-maker is burdened with so much data and overthinking that they are unable to move forward. Excess of options makes them shaky and prevents them from making any decision at all.

Let me explain this point by giving an example. Imagine for a moment that you're in the market for buying a 55-inches LCD TV. This was your solo requirement at the start. However, as you visited the TV shop and checked dozens of 55-inch LCD units, each with different specs, you started to panic.

Such a situation might evoke different questions in your mind. Should I buy this TV because it comes from the brand I trust? Or will this one serve me better as it comes with a bigger warranty? Or should I go for this one as it is the least pricey of them all? Here's how you can overcome analysis paralysis.

Set yourself a 'decision making' deadline. That should be the least possible time frame by which you must have taken a decision. You might convince yourself to stick to that date by counting how much time you have spent arguing with yourself about the decision's merits/demerits.

2. Zoom out from the situation
Here is one of the tips that have helped me turn into a better decision-maker. Every time I'm forced to decide on a crucial matter, I zoom out. Instead of thinking about the situation as it concerns me, I think of it from a third person's perspective, who is detached from the whole process.

That third person is not a stranger. I like to think of him as a genuine friend who wants the best for the person whom the decision's outcome will affect. Who knows that whatever decision they'd take would hurt or help their friend's life. Here's how this approach helps me.

One of the reasons most of us become paralyzed in the face of an impending decision is because we're too attached to its potential outcome. My life might go south if I didn't wear the perfect dress for the interview. I'd be bankrupt if this investment doesn't go according to plan.

Such an attachment leads us to cognitive biases. These standard mental errors such as confirmation bias, which can force us into making irrational choices. However, if we're detached from the situation, we're no longer bound by our cognitive biases, and are therefore more likely to make a better decision.

3. Keep an eye on the available facts
This tip is directed at those of you who are already uber-successful in your lives. The sort of persons who have achieved the goals they set many moons ago. And who are now looking to achieve those goals in the coming years which they set while sitting underneath their UVC led.

Such people tend to become too overconfident, too easily. Just because everything in their life has gone according to plan until now, they believe that the same would happen in the future again. To put it crudely, these people think that they have 'everything under control.'

These people would do well to balance their confidence levels with the facts on the ground. Perhaps you're 90% sure that you'd get a promotion if you asked your boss. But have you checked the KPIs of your colleague vying for the same? Has he or she under- or out-performed you?

Sometimes it may happen that the facts would corroborate their viewpoint – your colleague hasn't performed as well as you and doesn't deserve getting the promotion. Other times they would not. It's therefore recommended to keep an eye on the available facts before making a decision.

4. Reframe your problem
Imagine visiting two surgeons for a procedure. The first one tells you, "Ninety five percent of patients who undergo this operation come out smiling." The other warns, "Five percent of patients who undergo this operation are at risk of dying." Which of the two surgeons will you choose?

Of course the former. Both of them are stating the fact but the fear that the statement "5 percent of people die" evoked in you would prevent you from going to that surgeon every again. Even if they are one of the top surgeons in the country with decades of experience under this belt.

You might want to keep this example in mind when you're about to make a decision. Instead of asking, "will this UVC robot. break down after five years," you might want to ask yourself "will it last five years with the amount of care I'm going to provide it."

That isn't to say that your reframe the issue at hand to make it look more appealing or less puzzling. What we're trying to tell you is that you might want to look at the problem from multiple angles. Doing that would enhance your ability to reach a better decision in the end.

5. Take a walk
Joseph Sugerman is a legendary copywriter. He has taught thousands of aspiring writers the art of writing copy that has helped make their clients make millions in sales. In his best-selling book "The Adweek Copywriting Handbook", he reveals he makes crucial decisions by taking a walk.

That is to say that he does anything which allows him to detach from the issue at hand. It might be a walk outside his office or a lunch with a potential client. This simple-looking approach allows him to write better copy. Science tells us the reason why that is the case.

When we put an issue into the back of our mind, we allow it to 'incubate'. With your conscious thinking patterns no longer devoted to the issue, your non-conscious thinking will tend to it. That, in turn, might allow you to reach a decision without expending much mental energy.

That's why, when facing an impending decision, you might want to engage in an activity that would take your mind off it. Some people might do well with an outdoor lunch. Others would like to talk to a friend. Still others would prefer browsing Facebook. Whatever works for you is excellent.

Conclusion
Let's summarize everything that you have read above. There are five keys to making better decisions, the first among which is overcoming analysis paralysis. You don't want to let the mountain of data at your disposal prevent you from taking the next step. Or else, you won't be able to move forward at all.

The next thing you might want to do when facing a crucial decision is to zoom out from the situation. That means thinking about it from a third-person's perspective, one who is your genuine friend but won't be directly affected by the outcome of any decision you might end up taking.

You might also want to keep an eye on the available facts while thinking about it from a third person's perspective. The statistics won't be easy to get but would slash the odds of you making a wrong decision by balancing your emotions with hard-headed rationality.

The last two tips involve reframing the issue and putting it at the back of your mind. Reframing the issue will allow you to look at it from multiple angles, thereby enabling you to reach a better decision. Putting it at the back of your mind for some time, meanwhile, will do the same.