Ostensibly, we are constantly making decisions. In practice, it is not at all certain that to this day we have made a single truly significant decision about the meaning of life or about the inner potential that is hidden inside us.
If we stop for a moment and map out everything we go through during a typical day or week, we would find that most of the actions we make are out of necessity in our reality. We have commitments, pre-set frameworks of action, agendas. The main choices we make are related to the most pressing things we need to take care of—and here it is important to know in advance what we are going to do— and how to prioritize our tasks and plan our time to fulfill our responsibilities.
In mundane decisions it can be a good idea to consult with experts, hear the opinions of people we trust, and so on. However, in substantive decisions that pertain to the essence of our own life, it is important to listen to the inner voice within us. Only.
And here we should strive for the innermost voice that is truly ours, and not the opinions of other people, even of parents or friends. We have to listen to our authentic inner self to answer the most significant questions of our very existence: Who am I? What am I drawn to? What do I want to live for?
If we feel the inward urge to determine what matters most to us in life, our most meaningful life goals, all the daily decisions will follow the lead and fall into place smoothly.
In general, it is important to keep balance between mind and emotion, and it is not simple. On the one hand, the mind helps to make decisions in places where emotion is lacking. On the other hand, if we only follow our mind, then we may not be able to appreciate the wider picture that ensures making the right decision. Therefore, a balance between the mind and the emotion means that they will complement each other in such a way that the emotional actions will be the result of an informed process, and the rational decisions will be such that we could also sustain them emotionally.
At the most advanced level of development we learn to be above ourselves, meaning above our emotion and mind, above our habits and thought patterns. This is already a level of spiritual development in which we explore our inner self, what we need to correct within ourselves, and how to use these discernments to make the best decisions.
The wisdom of Kabbalah explains to us what our nature is, what the nature of the world around us is, and where evolution necessarily advances the human race. And when the whole map of development begins to unfold before us, we discover what we can influence and what we cannot, where exactly our free choice is. This describes the decision making process at the highest possible level for a fulfilling and meaningful life.