Decision-making
Is my child using drugs? How to tell if your teenager is smoking pot.
Making big decisions can be tough…
Especially if there are real risks and consequences involved. Not every decision you make will be a good one, and a bad decision is really just a learning point in your life. Even so, knowing the best way to go about making a decision is a big step in the right direction after all, if your decision doesn t work out as planned, you at least know you really thought about what you were doing.
Forum: share your stories or ask for advice
Sometimes you can have all the tools and resources in the world at your fingertips – fact sheets, videos, flowcharts – but you just really need some advice from someone who’s been there. Our NCPIC forums are completely anonymous (you can choose to leave a name or not), and provide a space for you to share stories, give advice or ask for some help/guidance.
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A guide to figuring out 'you' so you can make decisions for 'you'
So you feel like you know who you are huh? Or maybe you re still working it out? Knowing who you are, and what makes you you is a really important part of making choices that you will be happy with way into the future. If you re not sure exactly who you are just yet, don t worry you re not expected to until you have a bit more time under your belt. But while you decide, it can help to think about and have a firm understanding of the types of values that make you you and how they affect what feels right to you. For example, maybe you re a person who values genuineness over everything else, so it really doesn t sit right with you when people are fake. This activity will help you think about those values that combine to make you unique.
Write five of the things you value most on the line marked values think things like health, honesty, friendship, brains etc. Cut along all the dotted lines until you end up with an arrow, and a rectangle with a line cut in it. Stick one paddle-pop stick along the top edge of the rectangle to make it stable and the other paddle-pop stick along the arrow, sticking out the bottom so you can use it as a handle. Insert the tip of the arrow into the cut in the rectangle, underneath the words so you can slide it along to the statement that matches how you feel about the scenarios below. Even though this might seem like a bit of weird at-home thing to do in your spare time, it is a really good way to start thinking about how certain decisions and situations sit with you and make you feel. It will make you more aware of who you are and what you value so you can more easily make decisions that are about ‘you’. It’s also a really interesting thing to do with a couple of mates – you think you are all pretty alike, but are you?
