This is part three in our series, How to make the best decisions for a self-sufficient lifestyle for your family.

Week one was about How to make the best decisions for a self-sufficient lifestyle for your family.  Week two was How to Sharpen your Decision Making Skills for Self-Sufficiency.  This we finish up with How to Keep Going When You Made Bad Decisions.

I have never made a bad decision, SAID NO ONE EVER. There is no one who can claim that they never made a bad decision. People make too many decisions, every day, every year, and throughout their lifetime, for them not to make a bad decision once in a while. It is simply the law of averages. Many times, those decisions have little impact on their overall life. However, there will be times when you make decisions that have serious consequences in your life.

Bad Decisions are going to happen. You try to do everything you can to avoid bad decisions. But they still happen to everyone at some time or another. Perhaps, the information you needed was not available at the time you made the decision. Or, someone gave you bad information, intentionally or not. It is always possible you made a rash decision without giving much thought to the consequences, admit it, it happens. Whatever the case, the result may turn into an unpleasant and stressful situation.  A very bad decision may even affect your family’s safety or supplies.

But no matter what the reason the bad decision was made, it is likely not the end of your world. You can get over making bad decisions and learn to handle the consequences. You can keep going when you made bad decisions. 

Overcoming Bad Decisions:

1. Face up to it

2. Figure out what happened and why

3. Talk to Someone

4. Make a New Plan

5. Move on

Face up to it:

You need to face up to the decision and its consequences. Take ownership and do not try to pass the blame.

If you were given bad information. You will have to deal with the person who gave you the wrong information or deceived you in some way. Their action may be the cause of your wrong decision.

However, if you were the one that was responsible for making the final decision, then the consequences of that decision rest totally with you.

Again, no matter what happened to cause the bad choice being made, face it so you can move on after. Yes, there will likely be an after. It may seem like the world is ending for you, but it likely will not actually end. You will most likely wake up in the morning and you will need to be able to move on and overcome that bad decision.

Figure Out What happen and Why:

Stay calm, and don’t panic. Figure out what happened and why. Why was the outcome so far from what you thought it would be? Try to find ways to reduce the impact of your bad decision. They call it “damage control” in the business world but the principle fits here as well. Do not try to ignore the problem thinking no one will notice. Someone will know and It will not go away on its’ own. If the choice you made will affect others, then you need to let them know so they can be prepared for the possible fallout as well.

Remember you are trying to make the best decision for your family, do not let pride trip you.

Talk to someone:

Do not be afraid to talk to someone who may be able to help with the situation. Again, having the “Trusted Shoulder to Cry On” to talk things over with is always a place to start. They may have had a similar situation in their lives before and may be able to shed some light on the situation. In fact, you could be blowing the situation out of proportion. Your trusted shoulder may even know how to get you out of this bad decision. But, they can only help if you share the problem with them.

Make a new plan:

Try to think of alternatives. Find ways to reverse the situation or at least reduce the impact that a bad decision will make. As with most things having a plan, B is always a good idea. But especially when you have made a bad decision and you are dealing with the fallout of that choice. That is the time to “dig deep” as they say and come up with a way to lessen the sting. Find out if you can do something to fix this exact issue or if you need to just patch it and move on.

Move On:

But above all do not dwell on it, do not wallow in your misery, and do not let this one bad decision badly affect the rest of your life. And do not lose confidence In your ability to make good decisions in the future. Be sure it was one mistake not a life of bad habits.

A mistake is not a life sentence, it is just a part of the journey.

When you make a mistake or bad decision, use it.  Do not let a bad choice cripple your future.  Learn from your mistakes and use them to make better choices next time.

Remember your life situation does not tell you Who you are or what you can do. You must make your life what you want it to be. Your location does not “allow” you to do or not do. You can make a more self-sufficient lifestyle no matter where you are or what you are currently doing in your life. As we have said many times and will say many times more, take one step at a time. Now that you know the process to make the best decisions for your self-sufficient life for you and your family, remember it and use it.

Thank you for sticking with us for this three-part series. In case you missed any of the other talks, part one was How to make the best decisions for a self-sufficient lifestyle for your family and part two was How to Sharpen your Decision-Making Skills for self-sufficiency. And always keep going even when you made bad decisions.  Life does not stop and you should not give up.

We hope this series on How to make the best decisions for a self-sufficient lifestyle for your family has been helpful to you. Please let us know what you thought about this series. We are always open to suggestions to better our talks.

We did a multi-post series sometime back on How to start a self-sufficient lifestyle and How to start a self-sufficient food supply. You may want to check out those posts for more info and ideas as well.

Thank you for visiting and please come again for another edition of Out Standing in the Field.