Are You Creating Your Best Future?

Apr 30, 2019

Have you ever felt like things are not going the way you want them to go? Is life not what you imagined it to be? Do things just seem like they aren't working out?

Life isn’t always easy. Everyday we are faced with infinite choices. Some choices are minor, while others are major. One secret to manifesting the life we want, and creating the future of our dreams comes down to each and every one of our choices.

As humans we make two major types of decisions:

  • External, outwards decisions: I have shared a tool for rational decision making below.
  • Internal, thought based decisions: These revolve around our mindset.


Not Making a Decision is Actually a Decision

Lots of people shy away from decisions given the uncertainty associated with outcomes. It’s often ‘easier’ and less frightening to brush it under the rug and hope that it goes away. Let’s be real, that’s utter nonsense. Ownership is vital. Fear is normal – it’s how we handle it that shapes our futures.

When you hope and pray for a situation to magically resolve itself so that you don’t need to make a decision, you’re actually doing yourself a disservice. Did you know that no decision leads to increased stress and tension? Think about it…uncertainty is one of the most common and severe causes of stress and anxiety for most people. By not making a decision, you are placing yourself in a perpetual state of uncertainty because you’ve relinquished control and are ‘hoping / praying’ for the best. This is NOT where you want to be!

Another common excuse for delaying decisions is over analysis. Over analysis leads to paralysis. I’ll be honest – I have been guilty of this on numerous occasions throughout my life. This is especially true for risk averse people. I mean, how can one make a decision without knowing the umpteenth possible outcome, right? WRONG! As I mentioned above, analysis paralysis leads to ‘no decision’, and we know that ‘no decision’ increases stress and tension. In a moment, I’ll discuss the power of our thoughts, and why positive thoughts are essential, and negative thoughts are life sucking leeches. Stay away from ‘no decision’ whether you’re praying, or stuck in analysis mode!

There’s one final point I’d like to make: Make a decision and move on

How many times in your life have you finally made a decision and it wasn’t the ‘right one’? I know that I have. Did your world end? Mine didn’t. Did any catastrophic negative event unfold right after you made that decision? Not for me. Was it all rosy and ideal? Probably not, but was it manageable and did you come out stronger? I know that I did!

  • Remember, more often than not we over hype trivial decisions (in the grand scheme of things). Do your best not to waste your precious mental energy, and finite time sitting on the fence. Make a decision and move on!

 

I hope that by now I have convinced you of the importance of making a decision. As you know, there are generally two (often) opposing parts of us that govern decision making – Our hearts and our mind. These two areas play out the age-old battle between emotions and rational thought. Is it better to make emotional decisions over rational decisions – I can’t tell you that. I do however want to stress the importance of intuition. A history of good decisions generally leads to positive outcomes, which leads to a positive environment, which leads to positive emotions. With a good mental and spiritual framework (arguably partially a result of good decisions), we can learn to follow our heart and intuition. Good decisions enhance this feature.

Below, I will:

  1. Explain the importance of our thoughts – including examples with very artistic drawings (I’m being sarcastic about the artistic drawings – a two-year-old could do a better job).
  2. Share a practical tool / template you can leverage for the rational side of decision making.

Ponder Away: Why Good Decisions & Actions Are Important

“Our thoughts affect our actions. Our sustained actions effect our behaviour. Our repeated behaviour leads to habits. Habits form our character. Our character shapes our lives”.

Internal Thought Centric Decisions: Greater Impacts Than You Imagined

Without getting too philosophical, what we think directly affects who we become. As you’re probably aware there are countless videos, books, programs etc. discussing the ‘law of attraction’ (or something with a similar name). Leaving aside a lot of hype and fluff, the key thing to remember is the message above.

What we think directly affects who we become. How you ask? Take a look at the following diagram:

As you can see, not only do our thoughts impact us, but also those around us. These thoughts continue to have a domino effect (i.e. lead to even more positive or negative thoughts). Over time, our sustained thoughts (whether negative or positive) will shape how things unfold in our day to day lives, which will in turn have an impact on our thoughts.

I like to call this the stair case of thought: Like any stair case, it can lead you up or down; the path you decide to take is up to you!

 

What Will You Choose?

There is a LOT more to be said about the power of thoughts and positivity, but here I have done my best to keep it simple, but still illustrate (in a tangible way!!!), the importance of thoughts and the impact they have on us, as well as all those around us.

A Practical Tool For Decision Making:

Components

  1. Define all of the important factors involved in your decision (column 1 in table below)
  2. Rank the importance of each factor from 1-10 (column 2 in table below)
  3. Rank how good or bad the current and new scenarios are from 1-10 (columns 3 & 5 in table below)
  4. Multiply the scenario specific rank by the importance of each factor to come up with a factor score for each decision (columns 4 & 6 in table below)
  5. Add up all factor scores for each decision (last row in the table below)
  6. Compare the totals for the two scenarios (bolded figures in the “Totals” row in the table below)
  7. The scenario with the highest points is rationally the better decision (The Nissan Micra in my example)

Caveats

  1. Do not include variants of the same factor in your list – e.g. Finances and expenses. Instead include (1) revenue, (2) expenses. Different jobs in different cities could have varying amounts of revenue and expenses. Including finances brings about redundancy.
  2. Avoid any personal bias by over or under rating the comparative scenarios when ranking.

Example – Purchase a sports car or a practical car?

Factors

Importance of Each Factors (to you personally)

Scenario 1 (rank 1-10): Nissan Micra

Scenario 1 sub-totals

Scenario 2 (rank 1-10): Nissan 370z

Scenario 2 sub-totals

Performance

8

2

16

9

72

Fuel Economy

10

9

90

4

40

Cost of vehicle

10

10

100

2

20

Recurring maintenance costs

10

9

90

6

60

Practicality (trunk space, # of seats, etc)

7

9

63

5

35

Appearance

6

3

18

10

60

Safety

9

8

72

9

81

Totals

 

 

449

 

368

 

Other Considerations

Life stage: Looking at the example above, if I have to make this decision today, rationally, the Nissan Micra is the go to choice. My wife and I are blessed to have a child on the way, and the 370z just wouldn’t make sense, as much fun as it would be. Alternatively, if you asked me to make this decision 10 years ago, even if the 370z wouldn’t make the cut rationally, my emotional side may have won the battle because hey, I didn’t need to be practical then!

I hope that you found this content valuable. As always, I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below or send me a message here.

Ahad
#RiseUp