July 17, 2014
Earlier in my career, I took a two year sabbatical and went to Japan to learn, study and teach. I went from a city of 1 million to another of 37,000 souls.
It was a shock, to be sure, but it was a time of tremendous learning and growth: personal, emotional, mental and spiritual.
The journey was the most enriching experience of my life at that time.
Making Decisions?
Before we get into what constitutes making decisions, it is appropriate to set the context for what a decision is. According to a quick Google search, a decision is “a conclusion or resolution reached after consideration.” [1]
Linguistically, the root of decision comes from the Latin word, “decidere” which means “determine” or decide. A decision is what an individual chooses.
In my interpretation, we, as humans, make decisions, hence choices, all the time. The cognitive process of decisions come about from our beliefs which we have experienced, created consciously, inherited, absorbed subconsciously. We, currently, are a sum-total of all the choices and decisions that we make.
In a state of ordinary consciousness, we make decisions, for example, when to wake up for work, how to brush, what to wear, who to see, how to drive etc. Sometimes, in the same consciousness, we make decisions by not making decisions at all!
Regardless of how decisions are made, each decision, no matter how trivial, or majestic, it may seem, sets the foundation for the person, for the individual, we show up as. [2]
Making Decisions In Japan {.}
I chose to live in Japan to have a new point of reference in my life. Intuitively, or otherwise,after a time, I knew that while in Japan, making decisions and choices would not work using the same, Canadian template.
A few reasons for why this cognitive, decision-making process would not work the same in Japan included:
- New country
- New city
- New language
- New people
Essentially, being in unfamiliar territory required making decisions from a new space (intellectual, emotional or somatic) to create a desirable outcome.
First, the decision was made to observe individuals in Japan. I chose to observe how Japanese made decisions and how foreigners in Japan made decisions. Based on observations and assessments made about the resultant outcomes, I adjusted, adapted and moved forward.
Culturally, as it appeared to me, with the Japanese colleagues I was around, decisions were made after carefully evaluating potential impact on the group unit and how each member would be affected.
There was less emphasis on individual outcomes than for groups outcomes. Things that my Japanese colleagues considered were: status, age hierarchy, seniority, existing group dynamics, perceived group dynamics and other not-so-obvious parameters.
It wasn’t simply a matter of “I’m going to do so-and-so” and going ahead and doing it. It required careful evaluation of the impact on the immediate group cohesion, then the greater group cohesion and afterwards on the individual level.
A New Understanding of Making Decisions
We, as humans, make decisions all the time. Some cultures, like the Japanese above, make decisions differently. And cultures don’t just exist in other countries; there are cultures within your workplace, within your relationships, within yourself!
That’s how we, as humans, function and move within our respective environments on an hourly, daily, and weekly basis.
Coaching is about creating the “hoped-for” future in your life through the decisions you make. The coaching process addresses a variety of topics including specific personal projects, transitions, goals, and decisions in your life.
The invitation with this posting is to be aware of how decisions in your life were made. In creating awareness of how decisions are made in your life, you illuminate yourself.
- How do your decisions enable you to create the life you want to create?
- How do your decisions hinder you from creating what you want?
Within the realm of Ontological Coaching a coach will assist you to identify emotions, language and the physical body in making decisions in a holistic and integrative way. It “delves into what you truly care about most.” [3]
As a coach, I will assist you to become aware of how the following idioms may be effectively, or ineffectively, employed by you:
- “In the heat of the moment?”
- “That was a level-headed decision.”
- With coolness?
I’d love to assist you to deconstruct your existing paradigms of language and emotion and use movement to shift into a space that may be richer for making effective decisions.
I offer my perspective, my experiences and my eyes of how I see the world. This is how I can best be of service to you. If you are interested in making decisions that work for you, I’d love to hear from you!