ONE STEP

What is that one step you could take today that would move you closer to a desired outcome?

When you strip away all the busy-ness of today, all of the "musts" and "have to's", you could spend perhaps as little as five minutes taking one concrete step toward a goal. You will set goals to reach your desired outcome, and you will take steps toward each of those goals.

What is stopping you today? You know that you're not satisfied in at least one facet of your life right now, yet day after day passes with little more than token wishes and monotonous complaints about this or that issue. Instead of spending the time feeling bad about what isn't working, spend that same time (or less!) committing to take one step, one action, one phone call, one email, one visit that will propel you toward...the next step.

Don't respond by defending your inaction in that one troublesome facet of life by pointing at how well the other nine areas of your life are going? We wouldn't be having this conversation if you hadn't acknowledged that you were ready to improve that troublesome facet. Remember that it is easier to work toward a better outcome now than to wait until the small issues become the larger issues.

TODAY'S QUESTION: What one action must you absolutely commit to taking today?

The Price of Submission

Everything has a price. Each time we make a decision, we may have to decide to forgo a second mutually-exclusive alternative. Often, our time is the price that we pay.

Time is the currency of our very existence but it is also the great equalizer. Each day each of us-- young or old, financially well-to-do or struggling, male or female--receives 24 hours, or 1,440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds to invest how we choose.

We can spend the time on nonsense or we can invest the time in ourselves, in the ones we love, in our passions.

We can also simply get up and go through the motions, because doing the same thing tomorrow as we did today is comfortable, convenient. But did your actions and intentions get you where you wanted to go today? If not, then do you honestly think that spending your time on those same actions and unfulfilled intentions will garner you any additional satisfaction tomorrow?

Have you actually accepted decisions made by others, and have conformed your actions to work toward their success at the peril of your own peace and your own success? Could it be possible that you made an initial decision because you truly believed that you could achieve your objectives, and only later discovered that your investment of time had become a waste of your time?

Tomorrow you will get 86,400 seconds to invest...or to spend wastefully.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Are you investing your allocated time for YOUR benefit, or to simply pay the price of submission for another individual's benefit?

YOU Are Responsible

I made a decision this morning. And another decision. And another. Some of my decisions resulted in favorable results. Admittedly, some of my decisions were poorly made and resulted in embarassing, ugly, and unintended results.

So have YOU. What decisions have YOU made this morning? Last evening? A week ago? A year ago?

Each of those decisions YOU made were made consciously, of your own free will. For better or for worse.

• That book you read and enjoyed.
• That class you enrolled in and developed a new skill.
• That compliment you gave your child.
• That rude gesture you made to the driver who cut you off.
• That late arrival to work.

Yes, each of those decisions were made by YOU. And YOU will likely embrace the first three as being obvious good exercises of your decision-making prowess. Yet YOU may just as quickly provide an "explanation" of why the latter two actions occurred, certainly not of your own free will:

• "The jerk wasn't looking where he was going, and he could have hurt someone!"
• "The train was running late, because of the flooding from the rains."

We have been conditioned to accept the favorable results of our decisions (even if the decision was prompted by an external suggestion, question, or request). Likewise, we have been conditioned to justify the frankly embarassing results of our decisions (the italicized portion following the initial reason).

In the five examples above, let's elaborate a little more:

• I was lent the book by a friend who shares my taste in fiction. I made the decision to read it, because I believed that my friend's past recommendations have been accurate. Result: I enjoyed reading the story that I read.
• My boss instructed me to enroll in a software class to prepare me to implement the software across our division. I made the decision to enroll in the class, because I believed that her request was aligned with my role at work and would result in greater visibility to management. Result: I mastered the skill required to lead the software implementation.
• I love my child and although he continues to struggle to earn a C in Algebra, I know that he has been applying himself with his tutor which has elevated my son's grade from the D- he initially was earning. I made the decision to acknowledge my son's effort, because I believed that it is better to highlight his progress than to deride his lack of mastery. Result: I built trust and confidence with my son.
• I was frustrated by the driver cutting me off while I was talking on my cell phone. I made the decision to lash out toward that drive, because I believed that it could absolve me from my own embarassment at my personal distraction that contributed to my diminished awareness while driving in the presence of my passenger. Result: I built up frustration and disappointment in myself that continued to distract me while I drove on that road.
• I was late to work when I failed to leave the apartment earlier than usual, despite my prior experience with how heavy rains can affect the commuter train schedule. I made the decision to blame my late arrival on the training without acknowledging my failure to catch an earlier train, because I believed that my boss would accept my "Act of God" excuse and not question my own failure to be proactive in leaving home earlier. Result: I beat myself up inside for appearing irresponsible, especially once I realized that all of my similarly-situated commuting co-workers had managed to arrive at work on time.

Bottom line is that we decide (sometimes well-reasoned, sometimes defensively) because we believe that a certain outcome will result. When we decide with forethought in an authentic manner, generally our result will reflect our belief. It is when we pervert the decision-making process that we somehow think that our result will differ from our hidden, self-protecting belief. We know that the results in the latter case do not generally please us.

Today's Question:

What decisions will YOU make differently today?