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Tag: create

Sometimes the best decision is the wrong one.

We’re bombarded with decisions.

Each day we’re faced with a record number of choices. From seemingly insignificant deliberations:

  • what to eat
  • what to wear
  • calendar scheduling
  • whether to walk or bike
  • branded or generic
  • what gifts to buy

to potentially life altering dilemmas:

  • which job to accept
  • what school to attend
  • who to marry
  • stock investments
  • starting a business
  • having children

It’s no wonder folks shy away from concrete decisions. They’re afraid. The bitterness of failure can paralyze even the most steeled among us. We all want to find the best path and make choices leading to our happiness and success, but the pressure to do so becomes burdensome. As a result, we get in our own way, stunt our growth, and eliminate perfectly good opportunities.

Realize any decision can be a good one, and the fear of making a bad choice subsides.

Wrong decisions can provide valuable information about your next best move. If you are willing to observe and take note of your experience and emotional response, most “mistakes” offer beneficial teaching moments.

Give yourself permission to make wrong decisions.

Growth and advancement requires some measure of commitment, risk, and fearlessness. If you can remove labels and take pressure off each decision, you’ll be able to access more and gain from each experience. Refuse to compromise for an abridged version; focus your vision on long-term growth instead.

10 questions to the best version of yourself

  1. Are you surrounded by people who encourage you to step up your game?
  2. Does your work excite you?
  3. Do your daily priorities align with your grander visions and dreams?
  4. What do you gravitate towards during unscheduled time?
  5. Have you set subgoals that tee you up for greater success?
  6. Do you schedule time each day to recharge and create?
  7. Have you written your dream list?
  8. Do you actively step outside of your comfort zone and seek adventure?
  9. Do you scare yourself regularly?
  10. Are you proud of the story you tell? (Is it positive or discouraging?)

Two words

Dream big.

Bigger than you’ve ever imagined.
Greater than you thought possible.
More daring than they taught you.
Risky beyond your comfort.
Away from the path that’s known.
With two words, change your life.
Dream big.

Perseverance wins

We’re faced with more choices than ever before. With relative ease, we buy new products, find new partners, reroute our goals. We’re impatient and easily swayed.

Yet success doesn’t always land in the hands of the most skilled. The winners are those who push through, stay the course, fall down, and get back up — again and again and again.

Commit to something. Focus your vision and keep going.

Good start, better end

Most of our efforts are concentrated on beginnings.

We are taught the importance of starting off on the right track and putting our best foot forward. We want to barrel out of the gate and make great first impressions.
Consider:

  • We rehearse repetitively for auditions and practice months before the big game.
  • First meetings include an extra something — added charisma, a special lunch, a sharp suit.
  • We introduce thoughtfully, crafting emails and inserting interesting tidbits into conversation.
  • We prepare for interviews and spend hours on applications.
  • Our “hellos” are bright, hinting at the potential of what’s to come.
  • We plan in advance and secure reservations for that first date.

In fact, the importance of beginning well has been so deeply engrained into our psyche, that we sometimes don’t even start at all.

But what about endings?

The final performance.
A career change.
The finished paper.
A closed deal.
Finalized contracts.
A meeting’s end.
Goodbyes.
A thoughtful thank you.

What was once a beginning now has a story.

What if we gave endings as much time, energy, and preparation as each beginning? What if we focused on creating an equally successful close?
Instead of simply walking off the court, saying goodbye, hanging up, how can you leave a trace of magic? Is there a ceremony you can create, a finishing touch you can add?
Your work deserves more than a handshake or a subtle nod. Go out with a bang.