Decision Making Exercise: Ups and Downs

Purpose

This activity encourages delegates to think back to their personal experiences in life and share some of their important decisions with their team mates.

Objective

Delegates to record important events in their lives so far and record how their decisions have shaped their lives.

What You Need

• A sheet of A4 paper for each participant.
• Pen or pencil for each participant

Setup

• Divide the group into teams of 3-4 people. Ask each team to sit in a circle, separate from other teams.
• Explain that each delegate should make a list of all the important events in their lives (both positive and negative) in a chronological order. These events should have been under the control of the individual and doesn’t include natural and uncontrollable accidents.
  • For example a good decision with a positive outcome could be:
    • “I decided to join the junior Badminton club at 12 and played in many innercity and intercity leagues for the next 6 years. My success in Badminton increased my confidence in my physical ability tremendously.”
  • A decision with negative or unsuccessful outcome is:
    • “I started drinking at 14 and it reduced my performance in school considerably”
• Once everyone has completed their list, delegates in each team are encouraged to share their list with their team mates and explain how they feel about their past choices and experiences.

Timing

Explaining the Test: 5 minutes.

Activity: 10 minutes

Group Feedback: 10 minutes.

Discussion

How do delegates feel about their past decisions? How important is it to make decisions quickly and effectively and how can this habit affect your life? Looking at your list, is there anything that you could have done differently to change your experiences?

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