Warning, this is a BOLD statement: Doing this will write your destiny.
It can provide abundance or tremendous regret. It can create legacies, good or bad. This ONE thing is really a lot of things with many options and we get to do it quite often. So what is this that holds so much power for us?
Decisions.
As I sit down to write this blog, I feel tremendous pressure to get this message right. You see, the word decide holds much weight, more than we may realize. We take for granted that we “think” we know, or we act upon impulse. It’s our thoughts that drive our feelings. Our feelings stir up the emotions within us that create actions or inactions, which are decisions.
When you’re reactionary to the emotions and choose a direction from impulse, the odds aren’t in your favor. Pausing and taking a step back BEFORE you react will allow you enough time to look at your thinking.
Ask yourself the question, “Is what I want to do really in my best interest, or could there be another possibility?”
Your inner spirit already knows the right answer, or if that’s too fluffy for you, a “gut check”. We were all given the innate ability to know what is right and wrong. This is your brain tugging at your nervous system warning you of tension. It’s the key moment of decision and one that can change your life.
Let’s take drinking for example. When you drink from a reactionary place, or without consciousness, regrets are usually the end result. As we know, alcohol lowers our inhibitions that dramatically affects our decisions. Here are just some decisions made while drinking:
- Driving while intoxicated
- Saying something you regret later on
- Spending money
- Having sex or going too far with someone
- Anger or aggravation that escalates
- Texting or messaging on social media
- Public humiliation
- Overeating
- Missing important family obligations
- Oversleeping or missing work
If you’re like me, you can identify a few of the above…or all. If any of the above is “too bad”, we may consider them a “rock bottom” event.
This is life-changing.
Good or bad.
Making just one of these decisions can forever shape your life and those behind you.
One decision can change the trajectory of your life.
If I can impress one thing for you to take away from this blog is this: Step back before you react.
Pause and reflect.
The SABER method is a great tool to use to do this. If you are unfamiliar with SABER, it stands for STOP, ACKNOWLEDGE, BREATHE, EMBRACE, REDIRECT. You can find the entire blog series with videos here, or download the book chapter from The Successful Mind book in a narrative form.
And if you’re ready to make a shift out of the gray area of drinking and need a first step, all you need to do is D.E.C.I.D.E. with the 7-day email series.
There is power in decisions. Trust yourself that you will make the right ones when you step back to reflect before you act.
