Decision

At the end of 2006, I started Bob Proctor's Success Puzzle program and every day for 90 days, I read an awesome essay on Decision by Dr. Carole N. Hildebrand:

"There is a corollary element that must go hand in hand with the decision...and that is commitment. IT MUST BE A COMMITTED DECISION. Most of us have weak decision-making muscles...we do not even recognize what it means to make a real decision. We fail to realize the force of change, a truly congruent, committed decision makes. Part of our problem is that we use the term decision so loosely that it has come to describe our wishes, not our commitments. Instead of making decisions, we state our preferences. The word decision comes from the Latin roots, de, meaning from and caedere, meaning to cut...therefore a decision means cutting from any other possibility. A TRUE DECISION, then, means you are committed to achieving a result, and then cutting yourself off from any other possibility.

Committed decisions show up in two places--your calendar and your checkbook. No matter what you say you value, or even think your priorities are, you have only to look at last year's calendar and checkbook to see the decisions you have made about what you truly value. For example, I am committed to growth, both professionally and personally. A review of my calendar always shows multiple continuing education courses, seminars, and workshops in both the personal growth area, as well as in my profession. My checkbook is filled with tuition disbursements, purchases of books and videos. Bottom line...see how you have reserved your time...look at your expenditures...those are the road maps to the decisions you have made in the past.

After making a true decision, especially the tough ones, we usually feel a tremendous burden has been lifted from our shoulders."

With this definition of decision, when was the last time you made a true decision in your life? This is definitely something worth pondering!