Develop This Skill if You Want Success

Success takes a lot of things.  Hard and smart work.  Dedication.  Discipline. Consistency. Persistence.  Endurance.  The ability to seize opportunity when it presents itself.  I could keep going and make a list for pages all the things that go into creating success, and at some point, it takes a little bit of luck too.

But there is one thing that underpins it all.  This one thing is what determines your success and it is a skill that you develop and get better and better at.

The skill?  Making Decisions.

Everything is a choice, it is a decision.  It is a choice to work hard and smart, dedicate yourself, stay disciplined, seize opportunity, etc.   In many ways, our lives are the sum of the decisions, the choices, we make.  

Every day we have to make a multitude of decisions and those decisions impact all areas of our lives and success.  

Knowing this, do you think it would be important to get better at making decisions.  Of course it would.  But know this, it is a lifelong work.  Getting better in this area of our lives never ends, so it is a lifelong commitment.

Where do you begin?  Well, the first step I have already given you.  It is awareness.  Awareness to the fact that you can become better at decision making.  And awareness is the catalyst to change.

Now that you are aware, here are 3 strategies you can take to start making better decisions in your life.

Separate Emotion from Logic

One of the first steps you must learn to do is separate emotion from logic.  Most people make decisions purely on emotion and feeling.  Well, I have news for you, feelings are not facts or truth.  They are, however, very powerful drivers of our actions and impulses.  You must learn to recognize emotions and stop in the moment to analyze the truth and fact of a situation as best as you can.  Use logic to think through the decision and possible outcomes and be prepared to work through which outcome presents itself.

Decide and Then Correct if Needed

It's important to separate emotion and logic and think through decisions, but don't let that process paralyze you.  In the end, you need to make the decision based on the best information and strategic thinking that you can - but you must make the decision.  And remember, not deciding is a decision unto itself.  No matter what decision you make, there will be outcomes and you will potentially need to make course corrections.  Be prepared for this and don't shy away from it.  Make the correction and move forward.

Don't Dwell on Things

Once you have made a decision, there will be outcomes.  Many times, they will not be what you expected and even negative.  Don't dwell on these outcomes or let them have a prolonged effect on you.  You should take time to deal with them, but your must move forward.  Harma Hartouni, a Misfit guest, who runs a massive, billion dollar real estate empire gave some great wisdom in this area.  He says to "Have a 5 Minute Funeral."  Take 5 mins or maybe a little longer to go through your emotional reaction to a decision, deal with it, and then put it behind you.  That doesn't mean that you don't have empathy or understanding for the ramifications of the decision - especially with others involved.  You must.  But you almost move on from it and move forward.  

Understanding how important decisions are to your life and success is the start.  If you can put the 3 strategies above into practice, it will help you work on this skill and get better at it in your life and help you tremendously.