How do you know if your making the best decision possible for yourself?

I don't believe there is one right answer to anything, and you'll probably never know 100% that you made the right decision in many cases. However, just because it wasn't an absolutely guaranteed right decision, doesn't mean it was a wrong decision. Most times, there are any number of good decisions you could make, with little to choose between them. You say you are questioning a previous decision, but if you had chosen differently you may still have been here asking the same question in the other direction. All you can do is make the best decision you can with the information you have at the time and with the feelings you have about the circumstances.

For example, I was unable to continue in my first career due to personal reasons. I was offered an option to go back to college to retrain, I just had to pick a subject. I narrowed it down at the time to IT or Librarian, I chose IT. Even 20 years later I wonder what would have happened if I'd chosen Librarian, whether I'd be happier, whether it would have been a better fit. But I'm OK with my career as it is, and I can't go back and see what would have happened, so why dwell on it. I'll never know 100% whether it was absolutely the best decision I could have made, but deciding on IT was an OK decision and has given me a lot of opportunity and a decent career.

In short, make what looks like the best decision you can at the time for you and your life goals.

I totally agree with Ariel and Carol. You'll almost never know in the moment, or even for a while afterwards, whether the decisions you make are the "right" ones. What you can do though, is learn from the decisions you make and use those takeaways to help you make more informed decisions the next time. As you can imagine, the more informed you are and the more energy you put in to weighing the pros and cons, the better decisions you'll end up making. Here are some tips on how best to do that:

1. Do your research! Read articles and books, visit forums and websites.. anywhere you can get your hands on information that will help you make a more informed decision. Now that you know CareerVillage.org exists, come here to ask people who have once been in your shoes for input!
2. Make a thorough pros and cons list.
3. Talk to friends and family. The people in your life know you best, so at the end of the day speaking to them candidly about the decision you're faced with will benefit you.
4. Listen to your gut, as they say. 9 times out of 10 your head and heart will guide you to making the right decisions and the decisions that are best for you.

It sounds like you're dwelling on a decision you made in the past that you regret making. Don't! Yes, easier said than done, but the best thing you can do now is to try to force yourself to see the positives in that choice. If you get to a point that you can't stop thinking about a different decision you think you should have made you can always change your mind! There are few decisions that are irreversible. It may be the harder thing to do (ie may take a lot of extra time and energy to reverse), but know that it's a possibility if you feel strongly enough about it.

Keep your head up Amiya, everything will work itself out!

No decision has to be a lifetime decision. Especially in young age it is important to try different things you may be interested in. It is also totally fine to make mistakes since you learn out of it and you can make it better the next time.

A good way to get an idea is to talk to people. Ask yourself what is important to you. What kind of person do you want to be and what kind of life do you want to have? Who are the people you want to be surrounded with? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Can a weakness even be a strength? What makes you happy? What makes you sad?

You can´t always make the right decision, but with the time you get to know yourself better what makes it easier to make the right decision.

I don't think you ever know 100% if you're making the best decision for yourself but I think if you truly consider all your options and are making your decision based on the right questions, it can help alleviate some doubt. Sometimes it is helpful to write out what your goals are and then things that might impact you to stray away from that goal. For example, you might want to be a freelance writer but sometimes financially you can't support this goal. These are things I do to help guide me in important decisions:

Hi Amiya,

Your question is more related to "how to live a fulfilling life". Mankind is driven by one "simple" thing: “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” — Friedrich Nietzsche.

To sum up; you will never answer your question: "How do you know if your making the best decision possible for yourself?" If you don't know your "why". Why is related to your life mission statement.

If you know YOUR why, you will live a fulfilling life (not easy).

One way to find YOUR why it's to imagine your funeral. How do you expect people to remember you for?

For me it's too: love, be loved; never stop learning; never stop exploring; and never ever give up.

Not knowing your why is like having the best ship in the world. But if you don't know where you want to go; no shore is the right shore. You will drift around with no purpose. So if you don't know your why. You won't be able to know if you are making the best decision possible for yourself.

When you have find your why, it will be easier.