Decision-making skills provide an individual with the foundation to make positive, informed decisions pertaining to their health. This includes evaluating whether the choice is beneficial or may carry risks, whether the choice is in-line with one’s values, whether the action is legal, and whether parents or guardians will be fine with the choice.

By taking these factors into consideration one can be able to analyze the pros and cons to certain behaviors and subsequently, make informed decisions beneficial to one’s health.

Setting health goals will allow you to make future plans on what you want to accomplish regarding your health. This can include making dietary and nutrition changes or exercising more. By setting these goals, individuals can plan out how they can reach those goals. During the planning phase they can begin with small changes (e.g. drinking more water or starting off by doing daily walks around the park) and gradually making more improvements.

Setting goals create the framework in order to tackle both short-term and long-term goals. You can identify steps you can take in order to achieve these future goals.

Long term goal : I want to complete a marathon.

Short term goal : Eat 2 servings of fruit and 1 serving of milk everyday.

If a teen made a decision that went against her own personal values, she might feel pressure and stress. An example would be if she does not drink due to her personal values, but her friends do. If she caves in and drinks due to pressure or because she wants to fit in, she might not feel good about it later on. She may have feelings of regret after the decision. Since one’s own personal values play an integral role in decision-making and future goals, it can be difficult when an individual has to go against it.

Responsible decision making will allow you to carefully assess choices which can affect your health. This can include evaluating risks, who would be affected by the choice, and considering ethical and legal issues.

By making decisions which are beneficial to your health and align with your values, you can take steps to set your health goals. When setting the foundation for your goals, determine what you want to achieve and create a timeframe. You can then take small steps to work towards that goal. You can then make the necessary changes or adjustments to help you get through the requirements so that you can tackle your short-term and long-term health goals.

This is why it is important to make responsible choices during the decision-making process so that you will be able to achieve your goals.

An example would be: A short-term goal I would like to achieve is to take an art class to learn basic painting. Since short-term goals are ones you can accomplish in a short period of time, you can focus on it right away.

The action plan would be as follows:

Goal: Take a basic painting class
Step 1: Research where art classes are offered in the community (e.g. in a museum or community center) and identify a timeframe when you can take the class (i.e. check for the closest availability to the current date)
Step 2: Contact the place for more information. You can also speak with teachers, friends, and others who may be able to assist you with finding an art class.
Step 3: Once you find a place you like after researching and speaking with others, contact the place for more information.
Step 4: Register for the class.

Once you take the basic class, it might be a stepping stone to take higher level classes or create a long-term goal to become an artist.

An example of a health-related decision you had to make was whether to smoke or not.

When you evaluate the criteria on whether to smoke or not, you want to assess the situation. Will smoking have any health risks? Will it affect how you will be perceived by your family and/or peers? Is it ethical or legal? Take your values into consideration to see if it aligns with what you are going to do.

After assessing the situation, you can make your choice on whether to smoke or not. If you smoked, did it align with your own personal values or did it go against them? You can ask the same questions if you chose not to smoke. How did the decision make you feel? Did you feel bad afterwards or regret your decision? How did your parents or peers react?

If people close to you were disappointed that you smoked, you can discuss how you set a goal to not smoke again after trying it. If you decided not smoke, you can discuss how family and peers were proud of you.

Since everyone has a unique reaction to this situation, it is important to make decisions which will give you positive health outcomes. It won’t be easy, but if not smoking aligns with your own personal values, it is important to make choices which reflect that. You can always make changes and adjustments when making health-related decisions so treat it as a learning experience and do not make yourself feel bad if you regretted a decision.