In this post, we’ll unpack all you need to know about decisions, defining exactly what they are, what drives them, how they impact our lives, how to leverage them and more.
What Is A Decision?
The word ‘decide’ comes from the Latin words ‘de‘ which means ‘off’ and ‘caedere‘ which means ‘to cut.’ A decision therefore means committing to achieving a result and then cutting oneself off from all other possibilities.
What Drives Them?
Our decisions are shaped by our beliefs, values and rules which are ultimately determined by what we associate to pain and pleasure. Thus, we make choices that either move us towards things that we associate with pleasure or away things that we associate with pain.
Our choices are also influenced by our emotional state. We’re going to make an entirely different decision when we’re in a positive state than where we’re in a negative state.
How They Impact Us
Our decisions determine what we do. What we do determines our results. Our results ultimately determine our destiny. In short, decisions determine destiny.
Just like anything, our decisions compound. The same way that money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of our decisions multiply as we repeat them.
Your present life is a reflection of your past decisions. Your future life will be a reflection of your present decisions. They will either move you towards your goals or away from them.
Destiny is consciously creating your own life. Fate is a consequence of failing in consciously creating your own destiny.
The 3 D‘s That Shape Every Moment Of Your Life
While there are countless choices we are required to make every day, there are three key decisions that we make in every moment that determine the quality of your lives. They are:
- What will I focus on?
- What does this mean?
- What am I going to do about it?
When we make these choices consciously and intentionally, we set ourselves up for an extraordinary life filled with happiness, fulfilment and success.
“Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from making bad decisions.” ― Mark Twain
Decisions & Desires
When it comes to your desires, you cannot have something until you have decided that you want it. Only then can you begin to move towards your goal. Once you have decided what you want, your brain then aligns you with the behaviours necessary to get it.
“Your life changes the moment you make a new, congruent and committed decision.” ― Tony Robbins
How To Make Effective Decisions
The key to making effective decisions is to increase your knowledge base. The more knowledge you have, the better you can predict outcomes. The better you can predict outcomes the more effective decisions you can make.
How To Leverage Decisions
The key to leveraging decisions is to ensure that they align with our goals and the life we desire. In doing so, we become the Masters of our Destiny instead of slaves to our Fate.
However, since most people make choices based on what is going to create pain or pleasure in the short-term. We must therefore break through our short-term instincts and base our choices on the long-term.
Summary
Making a decision means committing to achieving a specific result and then cutting ourselves off from all other possibilities.
Our decisions are shaped by our beliefs, values and rules and ultimately what we associate with pain and pleasure as well as our emotional state.
The key to leveraging them is to ensure that they are aligned with our goals and the life we desire. In doing so, we become the Masters of our Destiny instead of slaves to our Fate.
