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Thinking About Decisions Thinking About Decisions
(4 days later)
To the Editor:To the Editor:
Re “Making a Decision Doesn’t Have to Be So Hard” (Smarter Living, June 17):Re “Making a Decision Doesn’t Have to Be So Hard” (Smarter Living, June 17):
It may be useful to look at ways to decide that are outside our self-driven culture.It may be useful to look at ways to decide that are outside our self-driven culture.
If you’re chiefly trying to decide based on how you feel, you may not recognize that most decisions are contextual: It’s the relationship that matters a lot in how to decide.If you’re chiefly trying to decide based on how you feel, you may not recognize that most decisions are contextual: It’s the relationship that matters a lot in how to decide.
The best decisions are often made with three strategies I experienced in Japan: Consider the effect on others of the decision; consider if the best decision is not to decide at that moment; and have deep awareness of the sources of the thoughts and emotions informing the decision.The best decisions are often made with three strategies I experienced in Japan: Consider the effect on others of the decision; consider if the best decision is not to decide at that moment; and have deep awareness of the sources of the thoughts and emotions informing the decision.
Scott Haas Cambridge, Mass.The writer, a clinical psychologist, is the author of the forthcoming book, “Why Be Happy? The Japanese Way of Acceptance.” Scott Haas Cambridge, Mass.The writer, a clinical psychologist, is the author of the forthcoming book “Why Be Happy? The Japanese Way of Acceptance.”