83
GETTING STARTED
Hector lay on the couch, staring at the wall. His eyes
were fi xed on a picture, but he was not really looking
at it. He was thinking about the comment Anna made
to him at school that day. “Should be a great game
tonight!” she said and smiled. He wondered why she
said that to him. Did she like him? Did she want to go
to the game with him?
Hector’s thoughts were quickly interrupted. “What
are you doing, Hector?” his mother called.
“Just thinking,” he replied. His thoughts drifted
back to Anna.
“Thinking about what?” his mother asked.
“Oh, nothing.” Hector grumbled, wondering if his
thoughts were important.
All your thoughts are important. When you
think about a certain subject, you put together all
the information you have about it. You think about
the information in different ways. This helps you
analyze situations, form opinions, and identify
your feelings. You review your choices and the
possible outcomes of each one. Whenever you
make a decision, you use this process.
Your decisions affect your behaviors, what
you choose to do or not to do, and as a result, have
an impact on your life. Your decisions will also
affect your relationships with others—and their
lives. For these reasons, it is important to learn how
to make good decisions. Good decisions will help
you carry out responsible behaviors that help you
reach your life goals. They will also help you build
strong relationships. Building decision-making
skills is a good way to make good decisions.
Lesson 4.1 Factors Affecting Decision Making
Lesson 4.2 The Decision-Making Process
AFTER
STUDYING THIS
CHAPTER,
YOU WILL
KNOW:
• What factors affect a person’s
success in making decisions.
• The steps for setting and
reaching goals.
• The steps in the
decision-making process.
UNDERSTAND:
• How a person’s intellectual,
social, and emotional maturity;
values; goals; personal
standards; and resources
affect the ability to make
good decisions.
• How decisions affect health,
well-being, family, interper-
sonal relationships, employ-
ment, and society as a whole.
BE ABLE
TO
DO:
• Analyze personal, relationship,
and work values.
• Use values to set personal
goals.
• Apply the steps in the decision-
making process.
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.