The Decided Life - I wish I had...

"Hindsight is 20/20..."

"If I had only..."

"It would be so much different if I would have..."


How many times have you heard...or made...statements like the aforementioned?

Hindsight and regret are normal conditions of anyone who is on the path to a better place in life!

Yet hindsight and regret are powerfully destructive emotions...

By themselves they are nothing but feelings...but these feeling easily turn into negative reactions that cause "vicious circles" of inaction...or worse...negative responses...leading to more "poor decisions" and more regret...

I wish I had...

Stop wishing and decide!

Success and Authentic Happiness is just a few decisions away!

That is what the "Decided Life" is all about!

It is a simple answer to a situation that we believe is complicated...

That's Right...

..."The Decided Life" is not complicated...but it is systematic...

It, by necessity, needs to follow a prescribed path to ensure that the right thoughts are deeply embedded and act as a foundation for the future...

The hardest part of "The Decided Life" is submitting to it!


Let's start down the path to living a Decided life...

That is...

...if that is what you decide!

But before we do...let's begin by committing to making only informed decisions...


More Decided life...

As the name implies, the Decided Life is a life guided by conscious decisions AND conscious acceptance of the consequences...

The important part at this point is acceptance of the consequences...whether they are known and anticipated...or they are unknown and unanticipated!

It must start with a decision to live a decided life...

For many this is a terrifying option!

The thought of living with total responsibility for the decisions made and a lack of options is totally unacceptable...that is...until one realizes that the life that they are living is actually no different!


Shifting Gears

There are 3 viable decisions...

1 - To do something
2 - Not to do something
3 - Not to decided

Most of our life is controlled by option 3...YES that is true...


Why do we live in option 3?

Because we often do not recognize that there was an option or a decision afforded us!  As a result we just went with the flow...we let life take its own course...and then the only option given to us is how hard we complain and moan and whine about how unfair life is!

Let's not get too deep today...

Let's simply consider what living the Decided life means...

It means deciding to take control of what you can...and deciding to let go of those things and situations you want to control...

It truly is about reestablishing your boundaries...and...

Deciding to live a decided life...


Life lesson...

"The Decided Life" has an interesting perspective. 

Last week a friend brought over a large "veggie" sub sandwich.  It was so large that I could not eat it in its entirety.  I actually ate more than I should have.  I was totally full!  I hate to waste things...so...I wrapped the uneaten portion in foil and set in in the refrigerator...and forgot about it!

Two days later I remembered it and retrieved it...

Opening the foil I saw that it was inedible...

It was soggy...the lettuce had looked really bad!  I don't have to go further...It was YUCKY!

I threw it away!

Yesterday, my stomach growled and I went to the refrigerator...opened the door and saw nothing appetizing! 

My mind wandered back to the sub!

I wished that I had it now!

If I hadn't thrown it away...

WAIT!

The garbage pick-up company hasn't emptied the dumpster yet!

I could go out and dig through the trash find the trash bag and retrieve the sub!

I know!  EWWWWWW!

This is simply to make a point...

What was DECIDED a week ago was right for the time...

Changes in conditions and situations do not make the previous decisions less or more right...

A week ago...

I had kept half of it because I DECIDED that I couldn't eat any more of it...

Two days later...

I threw it away because I DECIDED that if I ate what I retrieved...it would make me sick...

My current state of hunger does not make my prior decisions bad!

I was hungry now...but...

Did I really wish I had kept that sandwich?

NO!

As trivial as this seems...this simple story sets the stage for the next aspect of the Decided Life...

BIGGEST MISTAKE

At this point...If you have decided to live decided...you have now taken the first step...and have averted making the single biggest mistake that people make in living a successful and authentically happy life,,,

NOT STARTING!