“It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped” Tony Robbins

Bad decisions made in a split second can ruin your life! Yet we make hundreds of decisions every day. And it’s there where your destiny is shaped.

You lose consciousness after 30 to 180 seconds of depriving your brain of oxygen. Your brain cells begin dying after a minute. That’s all it takes! Half a minute is all it takes to start to lose consciousness.

Science tells us that the average person makes a staggering 35,000 decisions a day. Many of them are unconscious habits. As if we’re on auto-pilot. And it’s in those decisions your destiny is shaped.

Your Decisions

Let’s think of some of them:

That twenty seconds of indiscretion cost a manager his job.

That decision not to get to the gym yet again, even though you’ve promised yourself you would.

That extra glass of wine you had just before getting into your car.

That ten-second pause that stops destructive words you can never take back.

That split-second decision to send an email you will forever regret.

That split-second decision to walk into the car of a perfect stranger.

That split-second decision to get the winning lottery ticket at the gas station.

That seemingly harmless flirt, that later turns into an after-work drink date with your assistant. That may come to haunt you as a married man.

Saying “yes” to something you should have said “no” to.

Reflecting on Those Decisions

Do you tend to make hasty decisions? Even if you don’t, chances are you have made decisions you have later regretted. We have all been there.

Look back at the numerous times of poor indecision. What caused them? What need were you trying to meet?

Forgive Yourself

You can’t change the past. Forgive yourself for the poor decisions you’ve made. It may be difficult especially f you are living the consequences of those poor decisions. But you don’t have to stay in the shadow of those decisions.

Don’t Let It Define You

Ok, so, you’ve made some poor decisions. But they don’t have to define you. You, and only you, get to decide who you are. As transformation coach and author of “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” (#ad) Robin Sharma says, “There are no mistakes in life, only lessons.”

What Can You Learn From It?

Choose to learn from the decisions you’ve regretted. What has the decision taught you? Some of the lessons I have learned from the decisions I have regretted include being grateful for what I have. They’ve also taught me self-compassion.

Decide You Are Going To Be Different

The biggest decision you can make is to decide to be different. Along with that you can also do the following:

· Learn to exercise the pause. Pause before you answer a question made in the heat of the moment.

· Take time to breathe in. The fullness of your breath will help clear your mind.

· Check in with your heart and your body before answering a question.

· Sleep over a message you want to send.

· Don’t make decisions in a state of extreme happiness or sadness.

· Be Mindful of the impact of your behavior on those around you. It’s part of devloping emotional intelligence.

· Master your emotions.

Before making a decision, ask yourself: how will this decision affect my life in the next 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years from now. And then make the decision. Because, as Tony Robbins has said, “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.”

This article contains affiliate links. I may receive compensation for purchases made through them (at no additional cost to you).

If you enjoyed my content subscribe to Medium to access thousands of useful and life-changing information, written by me and other content creators. If you sign up for medium (as a paying member) I will receive a portion of the monthly fee that you pay, at no additional cost to you.