Making up your mind! You don't know how tired I get of hearing that from the people standing behind me at fast food joints. I also tend to hold up the line when I visit a salad bar with too many options. I guess you could say I have trouble making decisions.

The reason most of us have trouble making decisions is we tend to over think the ramifications of what our choice might be. The scenarios I've illustrated in the paragraph above are minor compared to bigger decisions.

Trying to decide if you should go out on a date with someone or whether you should buy a new car or whether you should admit you lost the wedding ring and not risk insurance fraud can really have an impact on your life.

There is a way that you can always make the smarter decision and it only takes two minutes. 

Here is the trick. Once you've reached the point where it is time to decide you'll need to focus on something else for about two minutes. It needs to be an engaging activity like playing a quick video game or enjoying an ice cream cone. You want your conscious mind to let go of the decision and let your subconscious mind take over.

Why this works is the subconscious mind tends to view the world in a more bigger picture fashion. Even while you're slamming somebody playing Words with Friends, that part of your brain is still weighing the pros and cons of the choice you're about to make.

When your two minutes or so is up you'll find that your brain has settled on the better choice based on your current circumstances. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University tested this hypothesis and found the conscious mind gets stuck on details while the sub conscious mind cuts through the clutter to the heart of your choice.

Next time you're faced with a tough choice take two minutes and let your brain sort things out while you get to enjoy some ice cream.

More From Talk Radio 960 AM