Good decisions compound. The guy studying hard in high school, is probably going to be the guy who goes to a good college in the future. If he puts himself out there and competes, he’ll probably get the best job possible. If he saves his money and stays in shape, he’ll probably become one of those guys with a nice wife and loving family. The kind that so many other men are jealous of, if they’re smart. On the flipside, the guy who’s involved in crime is probably going to be going to juvie in high school. If he doesn’t get his act together there, he’ll fall into the wrong crowd, and eventually his life will crumble. Whether it’s death, prison, or simply a life of low wages and addiction, his bad decisions will result in a bad outcome. Most of us are thankfully on the right path. But what if you aren’t, and you know it? Reversing bad decisions and preventing future ones is very possible. You just need to be willing to change both your mindset and lifestyle.
Good decisions compound, and so do bad ones
This is the most important thing to remember. Once you learn and internalize this truth, your decision making should change drastically. The fact of the matter is that no matter who you are, if you were making good decisions 3 years ago, you’re probably winning. If you were making bad ones, you are probably suffering. This is because no matter what you do, the decisions you make add up. The more you learn, the more you improve and the better you do. This applies to any field of life. It’s easier to keep the ball rolling in the same direction than it is to change that direction.
Realize it’s going to take you time
I’d you’ve really made some bad decisions; it’s probably going to take you a decent amount of time to recover. That’s how life is, unless you’re extremely talented. Even then, the work still has to be done. It’s just easier for those who are talented. Even if all you have to do is start applying for jobs, it’s going to take you time to get this done.
Relax
If you know that good decisions compound, and that it’s going to take you time to achieve your goals, the best thing to do is relax. Don’t stop working but do your best to make yourself calm. Set up an optimal work environment. Cut off negative people. Not much is likely to change soon, so there’s no point in going balls to the wall with grinding. You want to be working at a calm, sustainable pace and making daily progress. The first step to this is relaxing, because being too stressed will lead to burnout and overall paralysis.
Accept the consequences of bad decisions and learn to forgive yourself
The last thing you want to do is be paralyzed by your own bad decisions, and to keep making bad decisions as a result. I used to be someone who looked into the past a lot and struggled with accepting things. Don’t be like me. It’s pointless to look in the past. At best you upset others, at worst you make your daily life worse. Learn to let things go, without forgetting.
Make a commitment to living a good lifestyle, and making the right decisions, rather than achieving a lot
In my experience, you’re going to be a lot more productive doing this than if you just focus on achieving a lot, or making a lot of money, or suddenly getting fit. It’s not realistic to suddenly become what you aren’t. Instead, you want to slowly become who you want to be. I have spent the last four years slowly becoming a writer. Soon, I’ll be ready to start my second online writing business and expect to be producing about 160 articles per year on average. When I first got started, it took me a week to produce a good 1000 words. I made this massive improvement by staying committed to my new lifestyle. That of a hardworking, healthy digital entrepreneur.
Know how you want to change your life
I knew I was tired of living like someone who didn’t have a future. I was very depressed and knew that if I wanted to stay alive, I needed to make a change. I also knew I didn’t want to live in “the west”. I had made some pretty bad decisions, and those decisions had set me approximately four years “behind” in my career, all things taken in. So, I took a risk and decided that I would move in with a family member in a “poor”, tropical country. I’m glad I took this risk because it gave me the opportunity to learn not only what it takes to live in a poor country but learn how to spend my money properly. Now I know how to live properly overseas, in such a way that I can get wealthy while living a good life. So, the key is to have a rough idea of what you want. Thankfully, I’ve always known what I wanted.
Make the big decisions first, but make sure you’re wise
You don’t want to do stuff that has a lot of potential to go wrong or blow up in your face. But if you’re going to change jobs, start applying. If you want to move, move. The sooner you change your environment in drastic ways, the easier it’s going to be to change your routine. This is how a lot of people successfully quit drugs.
Set realistic goals
If you aren’t super old, you should have enough time to make a significant change in your lifestyle and reverse a lot of your bad decisions. Make a 5- or 10-year plan, and breath it down into monthlong chunks. Those “chunks” should feel bite sized. Just enough work that you’re challenged but not burnt out. Crush each of those chunks, so that you can live better in the future.
Come up with a routine
Me personally, I have a posting schedule. A certain amount has to be written, no matter what. I’ll be directing my focus towards health soon, but I still have a decent amount of work to do before I feel established in my writing business. So, for now, the posting routine is what takes precedence. If you want to really get an aspect of your life dialed in, add work in that area to your daily routine. Prioritize the aspects of life that are most important to you and watch those areas of your world flourish.
Create positive momentum
You need to execute now. 3 months isn’t enough. After about a year, you’ll have started to build momentum. 3 years is enough to turn your life around, if you’re consistent and don’t suffer some sort of misfortune. But the important thing is to learn to be consistent in following your routine. That’s how you create positive momentum. Positive momentum is really the end goal.
Watch your life change slowly
It’s going to take a while, but not as long as you think, from what I can tell. Generally speaking, when you’re attempting something new, you usually experience some form of beginner’s luck. This usually flatlines for a few months or years as you grind your way through the middle. Then…quick growth. But the catch is that you need to get all the work done. This is why you need to relax, set up a routine, and watch your life change. The key is relaxing and setting up the right routine. But if you can do all these things, you should see your life beginning to change after one year/1.5 years.
Bad decisions are hard to reverse. That’s why they’re called bad decisions. But it can often be done, with a lot of determination and consistency. Make the necessary changes in your life and get started. It’s up to you to choose happiness. Nobody else can do it for you. Since momentum is basically what direction you’re going in, you should find that “turning around” is the most difficult part of this process.
Thanks for paying attention.
