It seems obvious that good decisions help to create a better tomorrow, yet many people don’t appear to connect their lack of success to their poor decision making. Some people make choices, then experience negative consequences, yet wonder why they can’t seem to get ahead in life. They never figure it out.
Others know their choices may not be good for them, but they make them anyway. Such is the case with the alcoholic who keeps drinking excessively or the person who engages in one abusive relationship after another. Nobody says that good decisions are always simple, but they are necessary for success. Theodore Hesburgh, former president of Notre Dame University, admonished:
You don’t make decisions because they’re EASY;
You don’t make decisions because they’re CHEAP;
You don’t make decisions because they’re POPULAR;
You make decisions because they’re RIGHT.
You begin to build a better life by determining to make good decisions, but that alone is not enough. You need to know what decisions to make. I’ve given the subject a lot of thought, talked to many successful people, and narrowed down the list of critical areas for success to twelve. I call them the “Daily Dozen”:
1. Attitude: Choose and display the right attitude daily.
2. Priorities: Determine and act on important priorities daily.
3. Health: Know and follow healthy guidelines daily.
4. Family: Communicate with and care for my family daily.
5. Thinking: Practice and develop good thinking daily.
6. Commitment: Make and keep proper commitments daily.
7. Finances: Make and properly manage dollars daily.
8. Faith: Deepen and live out my faith daily.
9. Relationships: Initiate and invest in solid relationships daily.
10. Generosity: Plan for and model generosity daily.
11. Values: Embrace and practice good values daily.
12. Growth: Seek and experience improvements daily. If you settle these twelve issues by making the right decision in each area and then work to manage those decisions daily, you can be successful. Excerpt from John Maxwell’s Make Today Count
Here is my activity for you: Write in four paragraphs how you will work to improve in the following areas beginning immediately:
1. Decide to Change Your Bad Attitude Areas
2. Think, Act, Talk, and Conduct Yourself Like the Person You Want to Become
3. Place a High Value on People
4. Develop a High Appreciation for Life
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