Some would argue that we are nothing more than the culmination of thousands and thousands of decisions (probably millions) that we have made over our lifetime. Each day you have the opportunity to decide upon something that even though you diminish the importance, it adds up to who you become down the road. Think about it from this perspective;
- Each day when you were in school, you had made decisions on whether or not to study, for how long, and how intensely. You made these decisions for yourself (even if your parents were begging/pleading/attempting to force you to do it).
- You choose whether to eat a balanced meal or a bag of chips.
- You choose to get up and walk around or sit on the couch all evening.
- You choose whether to smile at someone and extend a helping hand or leave someone to struggle on their own.
- You choose to make that impulse purchase because you absolutely need that item to be happy (right then and there).
- You choose to drink that beer.
- You choose to sleep in rather than go for a run.
- You choose who to associate with, to date, and to marry.
- You choose how hard to work each day.
The list is endless because your choices over a lifetime are far too great to ever count. The point of this is that each and every day you are making decisions that don’t appear to be significant but in totality are extremely important because one thing leads to another which leads to another which then compounds upon itself.
The greatest gift we can give to ourselves is to just make choices that eventually just give us a chance to succeed. In regards to wealth and personal finances, people would probably state that “millionaires” are successful. Who would argue with that point of reference? But most people who become millionaires don’t become millionaires in their 20’s, 30’s or even their 40’s. Sure a few individuals are outliers and achieve great success levels earlier in life. But most millionaires don’t reach those critical levels or economies of scale until their 50’s and 60’s.
But they all gave themselves a chance to succeed by making the right decisions both small and large. It’s tough to start a company. Nobody would argue or say otherwise. But what is easier to do, start a company when you have an inexpensive lifestyle and a financial margin of safety or start a company when you are loaded up on debt with an inability to control spending? Staying healthy is hard to do for any of us, especially as we age. But can you give yourself a chance to succeed by being healthy which allows you to use energy for your personal growth and pursuit of excellence?
Success rarely happens alone. It takes support from others whether it is employees, associates, partners, or family support including spouses. Are you giving yourself a chance to succeed in your relationships?
One thing that successful people will tell you is that knowledge accumulates over a lifetime. That comes from experience and learning. It often becomes easier to succeed at certain things as we mature and obtain wisdom and understanding. It’s hard to have 20 years’ experience of doing a work endeavor when you are only 26 years old.
It’s important that you think things through and give yourself a chance to succeed if not for the moment then for later. Keep making forward progress in as many areas as you can. It will feel terribly slow at times. It’s easy to get impatient. It’s easy to give up and feel that it isn’t worth it. But big cities are built brick by brick. Buildings are built brick by brick. You need to build your future self brick by brick. It takes time to gain that experience. It takes time gain that understanding. It takes time to gain that wisdom. It takes time to know the changes that are evolving around you to sense those opportunities that are presenting themselves.
The Law of Attraction is a funny thing. It’s not just thinking about something so much that it all of a sudden appears in our life. Success isn’t just going to be delivered to your doorstep like a Girl Scout selling those Thin-Mint cookies that so many like to eat. That’s not how it works. Rather, the law of attraction gets you to realize that what it is you may be seeking has been all around you this entire time but you failed to recognize it with all of your filters that you use to view your reality. What you want is out there and is all around. You just haven’t built up enough knowledge, understanding and experience to see it. Others have built themselves up to those higher levels (that’s why they are successful).
So if there is one favor that you could be doing for yourself today, tomorrow and into the future, it is to realize that you are making thousands of tiny decisions every day. Think carefully about what you are deciding on. The wise person will make decisions that will at a minimum at least give themselves a chance to succeed. The others will choose in such a fashion that they just keep themselves on the same dead end path of unhappiness with a lack of personal fulfillment.