Drive Your Destiny: Create a Vision for Your Life, Build Better Habits for Wealth and Health, and Unlock Your Inner Greatness

The Power of Decision-Making

Decision-making is never easy, but as Tony Robbins said, “It’s in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.”

Don’t think about the result or the ultimate outcome; take a moment to make the decision to that you’ve been struggling with the most. Then, focus on the actions that will reach your goal.

Now, a real decision isn’t just a lofty wish or a dream. If you say, “I want to earn ten thousand dollars per month doing what I love,” that sounds good, but there is nothing here to show that you will do that.

We all “want” things. We want to be healthier, earn more money, and spend more time with friends and family. But wanting it and deciding to have it is unrelated. You must believe in your decision, too. In the next chapter, we will examine our beliefs' power. For now, just know that believing in this process is a necessary element.

I told you earlier in the introduction that years ago I changed my life. I decided I would quit my job, do what I wanted, and travel the world, even though I wasn’t 100 percent sure what I wanted to do. But I also made another decision that day. I decided what I didn’t want. I didn’t want to waste my life fulfilling the expectations of others. I no longer wanted to wake up feeling defeated. I didn’t want to feel stuck.

The moment I made this decision, I began piecing together my plan. Did I know how I would do this? Was I ready to leave behind my friends and parents? Was it a wise choice to fly to a country where I didn’t speak the language? If I had thought too much about it and weighed the pros and cons, my self-doubt and fear would have swayed my decision. I’d still be doing work I hate, living a menial existence, and wondering, “What might have happened if—?”

That is why I urge you to ground your dream into your subconscious once you make your choice. We don’t know the outcome. We can plan for the best, but the rest is up to the small actions you take every day that fortify your decision. Every decision has to be followed by action.

If you are stuck and blaming your environment, your spouse, or your circumstances for the way life has turned out, you have accepted that reality. Our decisions can destroy us, and it is the decisions we don’t make that ultimately lead to lives of discontent and unfulfilled dreams.

Everything now rests on your ability to decide what you want. Develop an umbrella plan in which you can envision the plan. The details come later.

According to the Locus of Control concept, individuals with a strong internal locus of control believe the events in their life derive primarily from their own actions. Making core decisions that impact your life is an example of internal control. You decide what you want, and you take the actions driving you toward your goals.

Every decision not made by you, but by someone else will leave you powerless. You might feel some relief at the time: “Wow, I’m glad she decided that because I couldn’t.” However, remember it will come back to you someday if you choose to leave your destiny in someone else’s hands.

Fear is the governing force behind your decisions. We are not aware of it but when we fear taking a risk, or think too long on the outcome, it is the fear of making a mistake, of losing the game, that controls the commitment power behind our decision. If a decision is easy, it will not have an impact.

When we surrender our decision-making ability to others, we fall into the trap of being directed by circumstances beyond our control. We end up playing by someone else’s rules and we give up the power to make our own. This is also true for financial decisions, work, marriage, or other areas that appear too big to manage.

The amount of direct influence you put into it can only measure your destiny. People who go with the flow, failing to take responsibility, and play the victim role of “there’s nothing I can do,” will end up lost at sea. They may reach land, but it is usually a destination they reached by blind luck. Chances are, many people you know fit this description. They are unhappy, lost, and desperate. Why? They haven’t decided about where they want to be in life.

You can’t get where you want to be if you don’t know where that is. It sounds like a simple concept, but many are lost on the journey. They cannot decide what they want, and then fail to commit to any course of action.