{"id":24766,"date":"2021-05-25T19:55:05","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T23:55:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=24766"},"modified":"2021-05-30T22:03:56","modified_gmt":"2021-05-31T02:03:56","slug":"make-better-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/make-better-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"Make Better Decisions: Become a Better You"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you feel like your choices are sabotaging your best intentions? How can you make better decisions<\/a> that are in line with your goals?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Decisions, no matter how tiny, alter the course of your life because they lead to behaviors, and behaviors lead to habits. With awareness, you can make better decisions that lead to the behaviors and habits that support a happy, successful life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is how you can make better decisions, according to Darren Hardy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Making Better Decisions Helps You Become a Better You<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most people don\u2019t make bad decisions<\/a> on purpose. No one strives to be overweight, divorced, or bankrupt. The problem is that many of our choices are ingrained in our routines and habits; we aren\u2019t consciously making them.<\/strong> When multiple small, poor choices proliferate, we end up in a bad place. We sabotage ourselves without even knowing it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make better decisions, you need to become aware of the moment-to-moment choices you make rather than existing on autopilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small Choices, Big Repercussions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes you can make a single big, catastrophic choice that damages your career or relationships. Think of celebrity mishaps, like the comedian who was caught on tape hurling racial slurs, or the anti-gay politician caught soliciting gay sex. These mistakes are doozies and they have swift, severe repercussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The real problem for most of us, however, isn\u2019t such massive mistakes; it\u2019s the repeated, small choices that seem to be inconsequential.<\/strong> Because you\u2019re not mindful of them, they can throw your life off course. For example, say you grab a snack and watch TV; suddenly it\u2019s two hours later and you\u2019ve eaten an entire jumbo bag of potato chips and several cans of soda\u2014and didn\u2019t finish an important project. You made these choices without thinking. When this kind of choice is made repeatedly, your live veers off course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Compound Effect is always working, but continued small, poor<\/em> choices\u2014made mindlessly\u2014 have it working against you.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Make Better Decisions, Focus on the Positive<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One such small negative choice is focusing on the negative qualities of other people or situations. It\u2019s a bad habit that leads to a cycle of negativity\u2014compounded<\/em> negativity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Focusing on what you are thankful for, however, creates a compound effect of positivity<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To illustrate this, Hardy shares the story of a friend whose marriage was on the verge of collapse. This man complained about his wife constantly and saw her as the source of his unhappiness. Hardy shared with his friend an experience that strengthened his own marriage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Thanksgiving, Hardy decided to keep a yearlong journal of gratitude about his wife to present to her the following Thanksgiving. Every day that year, he wrote down something about his wife he appreciated, whether it was a meal, something she said, how she related with her friends or cared for her dogs, how she looked, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While his wife was elated about the gift, Hardy was the one most affected by this experience. He had spent a year focusing on the positive<\/a>, often subtle, qualities of his wife and gained a greater appreciation for her. His gratitude and positive feelings changed his behavior toward her; she responded with even more wonderful qualities and behaviors toward him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardy\u2019s friend gave this gratitude exercise<\/a> a try and was able to turn around his marriage. By viewing his wife through a lens of positively, he changed his behavior toward her; she then chose to respond to him differently, leading to a new, compounded cycle of positivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choose to Take Responsibility for Your Life<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You are always 100 percent in control of yourself.<\/strong> When you take full responsibility for yourself, you hold unlimited power to control your destiny. Taking 100 percent responsibility for your life means you are completely responsible for what you do and don\u2019t do, as well as your response to what happens to you. You don\u2019t blame bad luck or outside circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Example: 100\/0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a seminar when he was just 18 years old, Hardy\u2019s instructor asked the participants how much responsibility one person holds in a relationship. Hardy said 50\/50, while others threw out 51\/49 and 80\/20<\/a>. The instructor wrote out \u201c100\/0,\u201d saying that for a relationship to work, you have to be willing to give 100 percent without expecting anything in return. It\u2019s entirely up to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This resonated with Hardy; he understood that if he always took 100 percent responsibility in all areas of life, he held the power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People think they take responsibility<\/a> for their lives, but many point to outside factors when things don\u2019t go their way. Victimhood lets you off the hook when problems occur. For example, say you\u2019re late to work. If you\u2019re not taking 100 percent responsibility for your life, you blame the traffic or something that delayed you. But if you take 100 percent responsibility, you\u2019d understand you should have left sooner or been more prepared before you left the house. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Example<\/strong>: It\u2019s All Your Fault\u2014and That\u2019s a Good Thing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardy once was asked to become a partner in a startup venture; he invested a great deal of money and worked hard for two years, only to find out his partner had lost the entire investment through mismanagement\u2014more than $330,000.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardy didn\u2019t sue the partner or even hold a grudge. He took full responsibility for the loss, acknowledging that he didn\u2019t research the partner fully and didn\u2019t watch the finances closely. Through a series of small choices, he ignored red flags and, ultimately, took responsibility for the results. He learned his lesson and moved on from the experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Truth About Luck<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re all lucky to some extent. If you\u2019re alive, healthy, and know where your next meal is coming from, you\u2019re very<\/em> lucky. Beyond the basics, the kind of luck we associate with success and good fortune is actually the result of a series of choices. Richard Branson, for example, felt he was no more lucky or unlucky than anyone else. The difference was he took advantage of good luck when it came his way<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An old adage says, \u201cLuck is when opportunity meets preparation.\u201d Hardy says there\u2019s more to it: luck is a combination of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Preparation:<\/strong> When you prepare yourself by constantly seeking to improve, you can pounce on great opportunities when they come your way. The great golfer Arnold Palmer once said, \u201cIt\u2019s a funny thing; the more I practice, the luckier I get.\u201d<\/li>
  • Attitude: <\/strong>When you take the attitude that luck is all around you, you can find good fortune in the situations, circumstances and conversations you encounter every day. <\/li>
  • Opportunity: <\/strong>Though you can \u201cmake your own luck,\u201d this<\/em> kind of luck is something unplanned\u2014a natural occurrence that comes out of the blue.<\/li>
  • Action<\/strong>: When luck lands in your lap, it\u2019s up to you to do something about it. When you take action on the lucky things that happen to you, you can achieve great success.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Luck doesn\u2019t play favorites; it\u2019s distributed equally to all of us.<\/strong> Instead of blaming bad luck when you find yourself in unfortunate circumstances, understand that other people have it worse than you. It\u2019s up to you to take advantage when \u201clady luck\u201d makes an appearance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Do you feel like your choices are sabotaging your best intentions? How can you make better decisions that are in line with your goals? Decisions, no matter how tiny, alter the course of your life because they lead to behaviors, and behaviors lead to habits. With awareness, you can make better decisions that lead to the behaviors and habits that support a happy, successful life. Here is how you can make better decisions, according to Darren Hardy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":24827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,9,43],"tags":[195],"class_list":["post-24766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motivation","category-psychology","category-self-improvement","tag-the-compound-effect","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nMake Better Decisions: Become a Better You - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"To make better decisions, you must become aware of the moment-to-moment choices you make rather than existing on autopilot. 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