Choices And Actions: They Make You What You Are Today

Life is a series of choices and actions that has lead you to where you are today. Every day is the beginning of a new opportunity. Your life is being built day by day. Every day, in many different situations you are making choices. Each choice you make leads to the result you get. For every day that you do not take the action that you intend, that day is gone.

Let's think about some of the choices you may have to make today. When I started to write this chapter of my book, I thought well today is another day. Let me use the example of today of how many decisions or choices I make in just one day. So below is an example of the decisions I know I am required to make today.

Do I get out of bed at 4:00 am and get a chapter of my book written, or do I turn the alarm off and get an extra two hours sleep?
Do I have a 'to do list' of what I must achieve today, or do I just start work and get whatever I can get done?
Do I arrive to see my client 10 minutes early, fully prepared with sufficient time to set up and commence the session on time, or do I apologise for being a little late and promise to email them documents referred to in the session?
Do I eat the healthy vegan lunch I pre-cooked on the weekend, or do I have toast and vegemite and snack later in the day, as I am still hungry?
Do I respond to each telephone call with enthusiasm, excited by the potential opportunity each call may bring, or do I perceive each call as an interruption to my day?
Do I make a minimum of two calls per day to potential corporate clients, or if I don't have time, just make sure I have made the calls by the end of the week?
Do I complete and send the proposal I planned to do today or add it to my 'to do list' for tomorrow?
Do I go for a five-kilometre run at 5:00 pm, or keep working over a hot chocolate and an afternoon snack?
Do I sit and talk with my husband as he cooks dinner on the outside bbq or do I watch television as I have already had my main meal at lunchtime?
Do I listen to my husband talk through his share market paper trading results or show no interest?
Do my husband and I talk about the share trading results or watch television?

The above list is a sample of the many choices I must make in just one day. Imagine if I have 80 years of decision-making ability: that's over 29,000 days of making decisions. Can you imagine how many decisions I have made? What choices did I make? Did I make the right choices? How do you answer that question, when everybody's answer could be different? Is there a right or wrong answer? My answer to whether I made the right choices is to consider the answer to some of the following questions:

From a daily perspective:

Am I happy with what results I have achieved for the day?
Do I feel good about every decision I made?
Are others involved in the decision also happy with the choice?
Will my mind be clear so I can sleep tonight?
Have I taken a step forward today?
Will those I dealt with today be happy with the dealings we had?

From a life perspective

Am I happy with where my life is right now?
Is my life heading in the direction I want it to head in?

I would say I am making wrong choices if I am having some of the following feelings:

Not sleeping at night because thinking about a discussion with someone that didn't end ideally.
Feeling stressed due to a build up of work.
Feeling frustrated with my life in general.

If you are not feeling good about where your life is right now, then I would suggest you are not making the right choices.

Ask yourself: What have you done today?

What have you done today to ensure you are fuelling your body with the essential nutrients it needs to perform at its best?
What have you done today to show those you love how much you care about them?
What have you done today to help a cause you feel very passionate about?
What have you done today to help somebody else achieve their goals?
What have you done today to ensure your clients are happy each and every time they deal with you?
What have you done today to ensure you will achieve your revenue targets next week?
What have you done today to improve your business or personal cashflow?
What have you done today to build your knowledge on the 'right' type of investment for you?
What have you done today to enable you to buy your next investment property?
What have you done today to make sure you are a step closer to achieving your goals?

On the day you complete this part of the program, write down a list of the choices you may have to make. For each decision, write down two possible choices you could make. Be honest with yourself, and write choices that you are likely to make. For example, one of my decisions was: Do I go for a five-kilometre run at 5:00 pm, or keep working over a hot chocolate and an afternoon snack? Yes, it's true. Sometimes I am highly disciplined and run six days per week, but there are other times where a hot chocolate and an afternoon snack wins out.

Think about what choices you have made in your life that you feel have been right?

Are there areas of your life where you feel you could make better choices?

Do you feel good about where your life is right now?