3 Key Decisions That Shape Your Life

Life is all about decisions. The quality of our decisions shapes our life. They impact our health, our relationships, and our finances. In this post, I want to talk about three key decisions that can be game-changers in our life. If you want to be successful and live a meaningful life, think about how you handle these three decisions.

Decision #1: What to Focus On

The first key decision is what to focus on. Every day, we have choices about how we will direct our attention. There are two key distinctions when it comes to our focus. The first key distinction is positive vs. negative. Life is usually a mix of good and bad. Some people tend to focus on the positive, whereas others tend to focus on the negative. Unfortunately, if we aren’t consciously directing our attention, most of us tend to go toward the negative. Practicing gratitude can help you find the positive in every situation. The second key distinction is what is under your control vs. outside your control. It’s a good idea to focus on things that are inside your control—your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. We have very limited power to change the thoughts, feelings, or behaviors of someone else. There are also things that no one has any power to change (e.g., the path of the hurricane). Whenever possible, redirect your focus toward what is inside your control.

Decision #2: What Meaning to Make

The second key decision is what meaning to make in every situation. When something happens, we make an impression about it. In other words, we make a judgment about what happened. We label it as good or bad, helpful or unhelpful. We fit what happened into an overarching narrative about how the world works, and our place in it. The key distinction here is to believe that everything happens for you rather than to you. Successful people find the benefit in even the most difficult of circumstances. There is always a lesson, or something you can take from anything that happens to you, that can improve your life moving forward.

Decision #3: What To Do

The third key decision is what to do. Our actions are incredibly powerful. If you don’t like the direction your life is heading, you can always make a decision to do something different. A decision to change one action might seem small in the moment, but making a decision is like shifting the rudder on a ship. At first, it doesn’t seem like the ship has changed at all. In fact, at the moment the decision is made, the ship is in the exact same place it was before. But give it a day, and the ship is in a noticeably different place. Give it six months, and the ship might not even be in the same ocean. In the same way, consistent behavior over a long period of time is key. But it all starts with a decision to do something different.

Discussion

What do you think about the three key decisions in life? What decision might help you the most today? Could you shift your focus—to practice gratitude or stay in your own business? Could you change the meaning you make—to notice how your circumstances are growing or strengthening you? Or could you change a key action or behavior that could make a huge difference in the long run?