WEEK 107: MAKE A DECISION AND MAKE IT RIGHT

Make a decision and then make it right!  Maxwell Maltz

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions):  I am writing this post as I look over ocean waters in Thailand and life by all measures is pretty awesome!

Now you might think sitting here and being able to bring my family to a fabulous resort I might have it all figured out.

On the contrary, I was actually reminded of a great lesson this week (keep reading I will tell you).

But before I get into it, I want to share a common story which we live out on a daily basis that takes us farther from achieving our goals. 

Queu music...

You sit at a restaurant with your friends and then are handed a menu. There are so many options. From the appetizers, to the main courses, to the chef recommendations, and then desserts. 

You ask your friends what they want to eat and listen intently as each person sells why you should get a certain dish. 

Eventually the waiter comes, and you might even ask them their suggestion as well.

Then they go away to give you some more time to think. After a few minutes they come back and people start to put in their orders. 

Then, you are up. 

You feel pressured and are not sure, should you get the amazing bowl of pasta or that great dish recommended by the waiter?

Then you decide on something and hope for the best.

You engage in conversations with friends, yet you still doubt the choice you made.

Then, the food finally comes out and you see what everyone ordered. Automatically, you think you made a wrong decision, but you wait until you taste your dish.

You take your first bite and...

You knew it! you should have ordered the other dish. 

Thus, you go through the rest of the meal thinking about the wrong choice you made and how much better it would had been if you would have chosen differently.

Sound familiar?

Funny thing is this situation can be matched up to so many other things in our lives, and even the bigger ones such as achieving our goals and dreams.

How you might ask?

First of all, we often never make a decision as we want a 100% guarantee that everything will work out (never will happen).  

Then, if a decision is made, we automatically think of returning to safety where we do not have to stretch past our comfort zone. Even worse, we reconsider our decision.

It is CRAZY and you would even say so if I were to tell you to make a decision and then second guess it.

Yet, this is what most of us do on a daily basis. Me being included.

However, this is opposite of what the most successful people I have learned from do.

I was reminded of this when I was listening to the book Pyscho Cybernetics (a must read) on a ferry ride this week for work.

It said:

"Make a decision and then make it right."

The power of this quote was magnified later on in the week.

Like I said I booked this trip to Thailand with my family about a month ago. No issue there.

Yet, I questioned every part of our journey once we started to travel. Why did we choose this from of transportation, why did we decide to stay at this hotel...

Crazy right (as I sit on a seated balcony overlooking the water)!

Again, this is the same to with the small and big decisions we face daily. Even the major decision to achieve your dreams!

Now I have learned that making the decision is easy, but not second guessing it and making it right is the difficult part.

Why?

Obstacles (opportunities), road blocks, resistance...even the smallest things can derail you and make you start thinking about why it will not work.

This is when you need to keep in mind this simple quote from above and learn to "make a decision and then make it right!"

Blessing from Thailand...J

Lastly, I am going to switch things up a little for the ending to provide some insights you can use throughout your week.

Top 3 Activities that moved me forward?

1. Applying Pareto principle on a weekly basis to identify which actions to take.

2. Exercising. Can not stress the importance of exercising to relieve the built up stress from the week.

3. Applying the "Got 2-Minute" rule to start tasks which need to be completed.  

 

Lessons and learnings?

Make a decision and make it right! No second guessing, once a decision is made, all actions move to make it right!

What are you grateful for?

Being able to communicate with my wife. It helps us grow closer through tough and good times alike!

Being able to take my family to Thailand for a week! 

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PLANNING (Implementation Intention):  You will follow through 2X to 3X more likely to complete your weekly task than you normally would just by filling in the following statement.

I plan to complete the weekly task [day] at [time] in [location]. 

A reminder you might have to use multiple Implementation Intentions in order to follow through.

EXECUTION (strategies used):  From week to week, I use a combination of many strategies. There are always some which are used more than others depending on what comes up, but I wanted to offer a link to all them at once. 

My advice is to identify the I CAN'T statement you tell yourself during the most. Then find a strategy below the statement which resonates with you, and then start using it. 

Enjoy!

STRATEGY LIST