Decisions: Change Strategy No.1

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all- Oscar Wilde A lot of times young people get on what I would like to call the ‘auto-pilot’ mode. They get out of school, go for youth service, get a job and then, get married. Without thinking, they start bearing children and the story goes on. Too distracted by their need to subsist, most individuals never find out why they were born; they never discover their purpose and so, they live as if on auto-pilot. In his book, Awaken the Giant Within, performance guru, Anthony Robbins calls it the “Niagara fall Syndrome”, where we abdicate our life’s decision making to circumstances and chance, and live a life that is often out of control; a mere existence. Decisions more than any other thing determine the quality of life we live. Whether you become rich, win a medal at the Olympics or launch Nigeria’s first ultra-successful start-up are hinged on the decisions you make. Successful people are known to be quick at making decisions and slow to change them. People who make decisions quickly take absolute responsibility for their lives and its outcome, leaving nothing to chance. And let me quickly cite an instance of how a lot of us, young Nigerians live in auto-pilot. Very few people, possibly you, had the ‘privilege’ of studying the course you had predetermined to study at the university. Thankfully, I did. Passing the matriculation examinations in which you averred to study Medicine and then receiving admission into the Department of Zoology is not exactly strange in this part of the world. However, a decision to stand your ground and study medicine may have meant retaking the exam or lobbying your university officers to give you the admission you desired. In any case, some action will have been required if truly you had made a decision about wanting to study Medicine. A lot of times, we let our circumstances gain control of our lives instead of the other way around because of fear. Yes, fear of making the wrong decisions often stops many of us from making decisions. The truth is, the more you make decisions about your life the better you get at it. So take control and get out of auto-pilot. Like every art, decision making takes time to master. Start with small decisions today; books you want to read, a bank account you have been planning on opening or a place you have been planning to visit. Decision making is all about action. Until you act on your decisions, they are mere wishes. It is just February and we at connectnigeria.com are here to nudge you a little with the information you need to have a prolific year. You are eminent. And you deserve the best of you.  But your decisions, not the decisions of others, will guarantee you the kind of year you dream about. You will either live by your decisions or exist in the vagaries of life’s circumstances. You decide!  

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This article was first published on 11th February 2013 and updated on February 25th, 2013 at 4:56 pm

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