You Have The Power No matter what your current position is in life you have the power to change it anyway you want.
Really! History has volumes of stories about people who have changed the entire world often with a single decision.
They rarely knew in advance the power of their decisions.
As I write this the people of Tunisia and Egypt have just brought down their ruling government of more than thirty years.
"How did it get started?" Because of one poor merchant in Tunisia set himself on fire to demonstrate the unfair and miserable conditions of his life after the authorities seized his meagre shop and with that single decision created a tide of revolution across the Arab countries.
Decisions are powerful tools towards achieving happiest.
I would go as far as saying that, "decisive people are very happy people.
" "How long does it take to make a decision?" Is it a minute, an hour, a day, a week a month or how about a fraction of a second? I would say a fraction of a second.
Think about it.
"How long did the last decision you made (an important one) actually take?" Now I am not talking about the time it took that led up to the decision.
I am talking about the actual decision itself.
"About a fraction of a second, right?" There is no question that some people can take years to lead up to their actual decision but once they have whatever they needed to make the decision, the actual decision took only but "a blink of an eye".
The point is the decisions do not have to take years or months or weeks or even days.
Sometimes snap decisions can be the best decisions we ever make because we make the decision confident in its outcome.
We believe in our ability to 'deal' with the results of our decision.
Leaders Make Decisions My unofficial estimate is that only 20% of the people are decision makers and the rest (that would be the other 80%) are following the leaders and followers are those people complaining about the decisions the leaders make.
The sad part of this story is too many people are so unhappy with their lives because people who do not make decisions (choices) are almost always dissatisfied with their lot in life.
My other observation I have made throughout my life is that there are too many "in charge" but not enough "leading".
I am positive you know many so-called managers, executives or public figures (politicians) that are anything but leaders and are often very unhappy.
Misery loves company and all too often they do their best to make sure everyone around them is unhappy too.
So just because someone is in charge doesn't necessarily mean they are leaders.
The positive side is that regardless of the state of the economy where you live every employer is looking for leaders (decision makers) and there is not that much competition in the 20% group.
There are many great reasons to achieving inner happiness including financial rewards which doesn't directly give you happiness but can increase your enjoyment of life.
It's up to you to decide whether you want to lead or follow.
Start today by making a decision that "decision making is easy".
Just decide! Why? Because when you make decisions and take control of your life you are at peace with yourself and that means you are a happy person.
Power Activities Here are some very powerful assignments that get you started on the road to being a better decision maker.
Assignment #1 - How long do you take to make a significant decision? Start looking at your decision making skills.
Evaluate your effectiveness and efficiency.
Are you confident in your decision making or do you dwell on choices for days, weeks or even months before deciding? List your most recent decisions and ask yourself how long did the preparation take prior to making the decision as it relates to the actual time you took to just decide? Assignment #2 - What scares you? List your greatest fears.
Now ask why? Write down your responses.
Where did these fears originate? Do you let others control you by your concern about what they might think, say or do? What can you do today to take back control of your life and your happiness? Squash the fears with reality and not imaginary thoughts of doom and gloom! Assignment #3 - Do failures control your life? Are they life lessons or reason to stop? How do you approach situations that do not work out as your originally planned them? Make a list of your recent 'non-success' actions.
How did you react? Did you learn anything? What was it? Or did you just quit? Regardless of your answers, what do you think has influenced you when you do not succeed? Assignment #4 - Are you a leader? How do you rate your leadership status? What side of the scale would you be on, the 20% group or the 80% group? Do you look forward to the challenges of decision making or do you avoid decision making situations? How do you feel about whatever your answer is? If you think you are in the 80% group, can you be happy with allowing others to control your life because you let them make decisions for you? What can you do today to start moving into a leadership role? Make a list.
Create a plan.
Execute the plan!