Making
good
choices
What is the
difference between
just making a
decision and making
a good decision?
Making a good decision
includes:
 Critical thinking
 Good judgment
 Responsible behavior
 Considering the risks
 Attitude
-How did each of these effect how you played the skunk game?
Critical
thinking
What is critical thinking?
Basically, it is being
able to apply logic and
make your own
decisions.
 Critical thinking allows us to
make our own decisions
regardless of the opinions of
others. The critical thinking
process is an essential part of
decision-making and should
be used during the decisionmaking experience.
Critical thinking steps:
1. Identify and describe a problem or
situation
2. Discriminate between fact and opinion
3. List possible solutions and their
consequences
4. Identify personal and family values that
conflict with the situation
5. Take a defensible position based on logic
Good
Judgment
 Judgment: The process of
forming an opinion or reaching
a conclusion based on the
available material.
 Good Judgment: Using the
critical thinking process to form
an opinion or reach a
conclusion.
 Poor Judgment: Not using the
critical thinking process to from
an opinion or reach a
conclusion.
Responsible
behavior
 Responsible: Being liable;
called on to answer for
behavior.
 Responsibility: What one
is responsible for.
 Responsible Behavior:
Taking responsibility for
one’s actions, belongings
and space.
 “Responsibility is not the result of
maturity, but the cause of it, and a major
responsibility of parents is to teach
responsibility. On the lowest level,
responsibility is obedience. At its next
highest level, it becomes morality, or
acknowledging that our actions affect
others, and we care about how our
actions impact others. At the highest
level, we give service to society.”
-Richard and Linda Eyre
 Responsibility means doing what you
must do and being accountable for the
decisions that you make. It is directly
related to freedom: the more you have,
the more responsibility you must take.
Responsibility is sometimes viewed as
the opposite of freedom, but indeed, it is
the result of freedom.
“Liberty means
responsibility.
That is why most
men dread it.”
- Playwright George Bernard Shaw
Considering
Risks
 There is risk involved in all aspects of our
lives. Crossing a busy street certainly
causes a risk; however, when we can
make a conscious decision about
whether or not to do something that is
harmful to us, that is when using good
judgment can improve the quality of our
lives.
 Good judgment means that you consider
the risks and weigh the consequences so
that when you make a choice, you will
weed out the decisions that may cause
harmful or disastrous consequences to
your life and health.
Why do people
take risks?
People take risks for
many reasons:
 To make money
 To gain respect in the eyes of others
 Not knowing the facts about what
they are doing
 To meet personal goals
 Because of personal beliefs
 For personal gain
 Etc.
 Physical: Causing physical harm or injury to yourself
(skiing, racing, etc.)
 Psychological: Causing emotional harm or injury to yourself
(love, trying out for something, disobeying parents, etc.)
 Drug/Alcohol: Causing physical and emotional harm to self
or others (smoking, pills, drinking, abusing drugs, etc.)
 Legal: Causing risks with the law
(stealing, running away, hurting someone, etc.)
 Financial: Causing a risk to personal resource
(investing money, lending money, borrowing money, etc.)
 Social: Causing a risk of rejection by your peers
(standing up for your beliefs, revealing a secret, going against
what the crowd is doing, greeting a new person, etc.)
 Educational: Causing a risk in being prepared for the future
(dropping out of school, sluffing class, not completing
assignments, being tardy, etc.)
Risk-taking can be positive, too. Some
examples of positive risk taking are:
 Not being afraid to make unusual
contributions to a group
 Being unique and individualistic
 Setting a goal and reaching it
 Learning a new skill
 Doing something beyond your
expectations
Attitude
What is attitude?
It’s basically the
way we look at
things
How can your
attitude affect the
decisions that you
make?
 What was your attitude towards the
skunk game that we played?
 How many of you took it really
seriously?
 How many of you really didn’t care?
 How did that affect the decisions that
you made?
Your attitude:
 Influences your decisions
 Reflects how you treat
others
 Leads to self-respect
 Enhances human
relationships
Attitude is
everything!
One thing to remember…
 It is important that we learn from the
experiences of others. An individual
cannot possibly learn everything for
himself/herself, but must rely on the
learning’s of those around him/her
and/or individuals from history. By
observing the actions, decisions,
judgments and consequences of
others, we can learn a great deal.
-Glenn, H. Stephen; Developing Capable Young People
Questions to ask myself when
making a decision :
(- write this down in your note book)
1. Is it against the law, rules or the teaching
of my family or religion?
2. Is it harmful to me or to others?
3. Would it disappoint my family or other
adults that are important to me?
4. Is it wrong to do? Would I be sorry
afterward?
5. Would I be hurt or upset if someone did
this to me?
How can the skills
that we have talked
about today help you
prevent problems in
your life?
What is the
difference between
making a decision
and using good
judgment?
It’s up to you!
 No one can make lives critical
decisions for you (as much as some
of your parents want to).
 It is all up to you what you will
choose to do.
 Just know there will be
consequences for all of your choices
(for good or for bad).
What would you do if…
One of your friends
was making fun of
another kid at school?
What would you do if…
Your friends tried to
get you to shop lift
something with them?
What would you do if…
 Your were invited to a party
by someone that you really
liked and you knew there
was going to be drinking at
the party?
What would you do if…
Someone you were
dating told you that they
really loved you and
wanted to have sex with
you?