The Importance of Decision Making

How important are decisions?  We make hundreds of them on a daily basis.  What clothes we are going to wear today, what we will eat for breakfast, which petrol station we will fill up at.  Seemingly inconsequential decisions that all add up to what's called our LIFE.

Small decisions are easy unless you are an indecisive person.  But what about the bigger things in life we must decide on.  Where we will live, what job we will do, if we will be an employee or a business owner?  Big decisions that will have a massive impact on your life.

Many questions may come to mind: Is making the right decision important?  How do you make a tough decision?  Can you just go with the flow and let what is going to happen, happen?  Let's have a look at a couple of these.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO MAKE A DECISION?

The word 'decision' comes from the Latin word dēcīdere meaning to cut off.  So, to decide means to cut off all other possibilities.  You decide on just one course of action, or one of several options.  But cutting off every other possible choice you are mentally focusing right down on the single thing that is of most importance to you.  Once you have chosen, keep your focus on that decision and back it up with actions and really go for it.

IS IT IMPORTANT TO MAKE THE 'RIGHT' DECISION?

Right or wrong in this context is just perception.  Who says that the choice is right or wrong?  If something doesn't go the way you thought with that decision, or it doesn't pan out quite as you expected, does that mean it was the wrong decision?  Not necessarily.  John Lennon once said: "Everything will be ok in the end. If it's not ok, it's not the end".  In life and as an entrepreneur and a business owner I have learned that sometimes what may have seemed to have been a wrong decision can either be turned around to your advantage and you can make it the right decision, or what you think was a bad decision actually turns out better than you could have imagined.  There are going to be times when you need to modify and course-correct, but making something that seemed to be going wrong turn around into a positive can be very empowering. Remember - if it's not ok, then it's not the end!

BEWARE OF HAVING A WAIT AND SEE ATTITUDE!

How often do you find yourself saying 'Oh let's just wait and see what happens and if we can do that thing or not'.  This is dangerous talk, because you have chosen not to make a decision.  And do you know what 'happen's when you wait and 'see what happens'?  Absolutely nothing!  Saying 'Let's wait and see' is pretty much the same as saying I don't really want it so I'm just putting it off long enough until things happen that I can blame was why we didn't do it.  How do I know this? I've been guilty of doing this many times in my life.  And I can tell you that every single time waiting to see what happens will guarantee that you won't achieve what you want.

STOP ACCEPTING YOUR OWN EXCUSES FOR WHY YOU HAVEN'T GOT RESULTS.

I have experiences both lack of really making a decision, buying into my own excuses and not getting results, and on the other hand I've set goals, decided what I really really wanted, and I've absolutely gone for it and achieved it.  In retrospect I've looked at my mindset on both scenario's and although taking action is absolutely key to success and getting results I can tell you that the reason I didn't take action when I was buying my own excuses was that I hadn't truly decided - I hadn't cut off all other possibilities - I was waiting to see what happened.  And on the other hand, when I did decide, because it was something I wanted so badly, there was nothing going to stop me until I achieved what I set out to.  Decisions lead to action which leads to results.

SUMMARY AND NEXT STEPS

1. Stop accepting your own excuses and don't succumb to the wait and see attitude - it guarantee's failure before you even begin.
2. Don't spend too long in the decision making process.  Spend just long enough to figure out if it is what you truly want.  Work out the how's later.  The important thing FIRST is to make the decision and move on to the next step.
3. Get clear on WHY you want this result, outcome or thing.  If it isn't something you are passionate about, then why are you doing it?  Write your end goal down and spend time each day keeping that fresh in your mind.
4. Make a plan of Action and implement something quickly and immediately - even if it's a small step.  Inaction and procrastination are dream-stealers, so don't let them creep in.  You don't have to see how the whole plan will play out, just take the first step, and then the next, and the next.
5. Track your progress as you go and celebrate each and every little win.  A win can be as simple as you making a phone call, or going to the shop to visualise something you want to buy.
6. Absolutely go for it - You deserve to make powerful decisions and achieve your goals.

Don't let anything or anyone stop you from becoming a powerful decision maker and goal achiever!

Wishing you every success,

Susan Dorrington
Leadership Entrepreneur
www.nolimitsbiz.com.au

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO BE ON TRAINING CALLS?

I hate missing out…on anything really. That has helped me right from the beginning to be on all our training calls. To me, it’s just part of what we do. If you work in a corporate job there is no way you would miss the staff meetings, or the quarterly update, or any training you are sent to. The difference is that often times corporate meeting are just a waste of time as nothing said is relevent, or if it is they take an hour to tell you something that could have been said in ten minutes. 

With our training calls there is always something to learn – if we are aware and come to the call like a student looking to learn. Have a pen and notebook with you on all the calls – take notes, be attentive. It could be the simplest statement that really hits you and brings you an aha moment. It could be a phrase, sentence or wordtrack that helps you lift your posture and increase your leadership qualities. 


Someone may make a comment at the end that resonates with you and answers a question you have had. Something YOU say on a call may not seem like much to you, but may help someone else. These calls are OUR staff meetings and trainings. Make them yours, make them meaningful, make them sensational and you will find them essential for your business success.

COMING FROM A PLACE OF ABUNDANCE, NOT LACK

I was quite surprised this week to identify a part of my life where I was coming from a place of Lack. I had noticed some thoughts popping into my head that I wasn’t really happy with and decided to sit down with my Journal and write down honestly what had been coming up for me. I came up with 4 phrases or thoughts that I had noticed more than once. It’s funny, but looking at these I don’t feel like I mentally believe any one of them, but obviously my subconscious has a different opinion.  After writing down these ‘Lack’ phrases/thoughts, on the opposite page in my journal I wrote down how I can flip these on their head and create an abundance thinking to this situation. I came up with the following:

Creating an Abundance Focused Mentality:
1. Focus on Abundance, not the Lack of something. Dwell on the Possibilities. Use Visualisation.
2. Gratitude – Have an appreciation for what I do have. Be specific to the thing I’m feeling a lack of.
3. Get Organised – Plan. – What can I do to create MORE? – Do More, Do More, Do More!
4. Take ACTION. After planning, I now know what I need to do, so it’s time to put my plans into action.
5. Celebrate my WINS. If I’m taking action towards my goals – that’s a win. If I get results – that’s a win.

After writing down this list I felt tremendous gratitude for our Beyond Freedom Evolution curriculum, because everything I’ve listed here are steps that I have learned along the way. Even being ‘aware’ to this kind of thinking and working out how to change that for myself is something that I have learned how to do because of Beyond Freedom Evolution. Ultimately we are our own Guru in this life, but I can only be that because of the tools I have been shown.

What do you do to increase an abundance mentality in your life?

FINDING YOUR NORTH STAR

It’s great to be starting fresh once again at the beginning of our Beyond Freedom Evolution curriculum. We had a wonderful call today with Anna & Suzanne discussing the North Star topic, so I thought I would share my experience here.

Like others related today I too struggled with deciding what my North Star should be.

One of my first North Star’s was “Simple Disciplines Practiced Every Day” – based on a Jim Rohn quote. It was something I wanted to implement into my life and live by, but something didn’t feel quite right. I even doubted that it was the right kind of statement to BE a North Star. But I decided to try it on for size – take it for a fitting, or for a test drive it for a while, if you will. Does it fit? Does it feel right? Am I comfortable in it? Do I look good in it? Is it the right colour choice for me?

While I was ‘test-driving’ my North Star I continued to be open and aware to other words to live by out there. About 18 months ago I had a bit of a light-bulb moment when I realised that my North Star was actually my compass heading – practicing simple disciplines every day is a tool that helps me stay on course towards my North Star. This was such a great realisation and it helped me to quite soon afterwards discover what my North Star is now: Make it Happen (or sometimes I CAN make it happen).

This North Star resonates very deeply with me. We are taught in Beyond Freedom Evolution that we are the creators of our reality. Whatever it is that we desire, we can truly make it happen for ourselves. Instead of just having a dream or desire for a different experience I can set a goal, practice discipline daily in the steps I take and make it happen. Moving to be in a warmer climate and closer to the ocean have been some of the great results for me this past year from following my North Star, so I’m pretty grateful that I found what that meant for me.

I would love to hear you share what your North Star is and your journey in finding it.

GOALS & PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Do we have goals because we decided to start our journey on Personal Development, or do we do Personal Development because we have goals we want to achieve?

I gained a great distinction on our Polaris Global Alchemy Apprenticeship call this week. My Personal Development is a tool, it’s something that I do to help me adjust my self-belief and make better decisions and to actually take action and get the results. This is nothing new – we all know this. But what came up for me is how I put this into practice in my life. I know there have been times in the past when I have been so caught up in my journey with our Beyond Freedom Evolution program that I have kind of got stuck in my head – you know – thinking so much about concepts and new thoughts that I forgot or procrastinated about actually putting it into ACTION! And that is the distinction, that is the key. Thinking about it can help to change our thoughts, but it is what we ACTION that changes our life.

Our Beyond Freedom Evolution program is amazing. But what use would it be if we just read it and did the exercises without actually putting any of it into practice towards achieving our goals – towards getting the result? Not much.

I am really glad that I’ve taken this seriously from the start of the year – to put things into action. This word is really resonating with me this year – and it keeps appearing over and over again. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again….2015 is the year of ACTION!…oh, and AWESOMENESS. Hmm – I like the sound of AWESOME ACTION!

Never Underestimate the Power of Our Polaris Global Community!

I just loved our Polaris Global Professional Marketers call this week. It resonated with everything that I believe about being a part of the collective group when we have events like our recent Aussie Tour as it rolled into Adelaide where I am now living. As soon as it was announced that it was coming here I paid for my ticket and fully intended to be at both days whether I had guests attending or not. The thought of not attending did not even cross my mind. I had a guest at the Sunday, and almost had a guest for the Tuesday but unfortunately he had to cancel last minute. But that didn’t matter – what I got out of just being there was priceless. I added to and fed off of the collective energy of the group. I came home just buzzing with energy to continue building momentum in my business and create the results and achieve the goals I have set for myself.

On top of being present at the event I cannot stress just how much hanging out with everyone afterwards means to me. It’s not just a social thing, although the social aspect is fun and getting to know fellow distributors and make new friends is really great. But it’s so much more than that – it’s the masterminding, the sharing of thoughts, ideas, challenges, sometimes deeply personal things. We have this amazing safe-harbour community where we can feel safe to share these kind of things, because at the end of the day, we are all facing our own challenges on this journey of growth.

Don’t underestimate the power of a few choice words – be it words you are saying to someone else, or words you are hearing someone else share. It could be the simplest comment that can help you reach an AHA moment and some major breakthrough in your thinking.

I was on the receiving end of some powerful words from a couple of gentlemen who are now even more dear to me because of how those words affected me. There is something I have been dealing with for over 30 years, something that I have come a long way in working through. Yet there was something still lingering that I had to deal with. They gave me a different perspective, a different way of looking at the situation, and although I will still have a bit of work to do on this topic, I can already feel that it does not hold the power over me that it once did….and that is pretty amazing and something I am very grateful for.

What AHA moments have you had from conversations at any of the Polaris Global Events?

TRULY DECIDING TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS

I’ve recently been working through the ‘Decision’ books of our Beyond Freedom Evolution curriculum and it has had a deeper impact on me this time working through it. I thought I had previously set goals in the past but all enthusiasm and effort to achieve them seemed to fizzle out pretty quickly. I now see that I had not really decided to achieve those goals, because if I had, then all other possibilities would have been cut off (for the word decide comes from the latin decisio meaning to cut off.) I’ve put this into action for the goals I have set this year – I have such focus this year on these goals, I am crystal clear on them – clear on why I want them, and clear about how to go about achieving them – all thanks to what I have learned from Beyond Freedom Evolution. I have ‘decided’ not only to hold these goals in my mind, but truly decided that I will achieve them this year, and there is no doubt in my mind that I will. It’s not…”Will I?”….it’s “When will I?”

What have you learned about the decision making process in your own journey?