Secrets to good decision making

The health care system, marketing, the weight loss industry and many others have skewed our perception of how to appropriately guide our lives.  The answers are actually very simple but are hidden in a cloud of distractions, temptations, and make believe.  When everyone has the same level of information, it allows people to make informed decisions.

The system is obviously set up to allow improvements in those who seek to improve.  Those who do not seek improvement agonize in the status quo.  The current system makes it very difficult for us to make decisions.  The system also places choices or temptations in front of you on a regular basis that can have detrimental consequences.  Making poor decisions will lower our self-efficacy.  Self-efficacy is our own belief in our ability to set a goal and achieve it.   

•          This maybe the most critical component and aspect of fulfillment in life.  High self-efficacy is true confidence and it only stems from making good decisions repetitively over time.  High self-efficacy without justification is conceit.  Low-self efficacy without justification is depression. Both takes practice either way.  Practice and conditioning is what leads to our perception of success.  The pursuit and subsequent achievement of any worthy goal boosts our fulfillment to ultimate highs. 

•  We must ask the difficult questions and consume the information which is important. We must be able to discard the information which may be detrimental.  Good decision makers use pattern recognition.  The more information we gather the more patterns we will be able to see.  The more we are observing and paying attention to details, the easier it will be.  The more value we place on our goals, the more focused we will be on achieving them.  them ore we achieve our goals, the higher our self-efficacy and our fulfillment in life.  The process will strengthen itself, if we let it.

Ask, what would my body do right now?  It does what is right every time.  It never does what is wrong.   The following are the three saboteurs to a good decision making process. 

•          We must have the information and knowledge, be aware and not be ignorant to the fundamental truths.    Any decision made without being as informed as possible can lead to disaster or at least distress.

•          Any decision made during heightened emotional states will exaggerate the reality of the situation. Lust for things, you do not need and that are of detriment to you, will lead us straight to suffering.  Being unable to ignore instant gratification causes distraction from long term consequences.   We cannot make rash decisions out of lust and hatred and then expect safety, health, longevity and success. 

• We must not ignore the things that are causing us to have pain or suffer.  We must not ignore the things that impede our progress to our goals.  These issues must be identified and addressed for success to occur.  Doing the opposite actually works the best.  Place immense focus on your struggles, causes of pain, impediments and all self-destructive behaviors.  Once you have targeted them you have to be a marksman and, one by one eliminate them.  Determine which are causing the most impediment towards progress and make the necessary changes.  Progress can not occur until obstacles are removed or overcome.  

Most of us have a poor sense of human.  This often leads to all of our negative emotions and outcomes.  We need to to account for the human design in all of our interactions and decision making.  Once we have the knowledge as to why we experience the problems we have, the true cause, we can intervene and change the outcome.  We can become much more decisive and more capable of doing what we believe in.

The great part is that people are, at the basic levels, all the same and experience the same problems in life.  So once we can understand people, we can better understand ourselves.   A greater understanding of ourselves will lead to less suffering and more happiness.    

Most people will not rationally continue to engage in behaviors that are detrimental and potentially harmful and dangerous.  Einstein’s definition of insanity is continuing to do the same things over and over again expecting different results.

If we are not getting the results we want, then we have to examine our thoughts, beliefs , behaviors and actions for limitations, irrationalities, and faults.  The willingness to do this and the openness to change will ultimately make us more successful in anything and everything. Especially in our pursuit to increasing our daily performance and extending the quality of our lives.  Forever Change!  Join the Revolution!