I am of the opinion, that one of the most powerful words in the English language is “DECIDE.” You’ve heard the saying, “Life is not a matter of chance, it’s a matter of choice.” If you don’t like the way things are going, if you want to change your future, then you need to change your habits. You can either choose to do or not to do anything … YOU DECIDE. Ralph Waldo Emerson said it so profoundly: “The only person you are destined to become, is the person you DECIDE to be.”

Good habits or bad habits aren’t your destiny. You can ignore your habits, change them, improve them or even replace them. But it is critical to understand, HABITS define people, companies, organizations and teams; they will make you or break you. Winning is a by-product of GOOD HABITS. Repetition and practice are the two key ingredients to developing good habits. Great athletes, surgeons, magicians, lawyers, salespeople and musicians (etc.) all DECIDED to perfect their talents through years and years of practice. Steven Jobs once said: “You spend the first 30 years of your life defining your habits. In the last 30 years of your life your habits define you.”

If you are not the successful person you want to be, then let’s state the obvious: what you have been doing isn’t totally working. So, let’s get back to Emerson’s statement: “The only person you are destined to become, is the person you DECIDE to be.” One thing that has always driven me was a statement I heard in college: “Control your own life … or someone else will control it for you.”

There are certain times in our business and personal lives that we have to make important decisions that will have a huge impact on our future. These “defining moments” or “critical choices” are the difference between clarity or confusion, misery or joy, success or failure. Deciding is no easy task and it always comes with consequences. But if you don’t decide, if you do nothing, there will also be consequences. Here is a simple acrostic to help you with DECIDING:

Making a decision to alter your life, becomes a catalyst for emerging ideas. Your mind wants a direction, a course, a decision, and when you give it that clarity, it rewards you with new hope, inspiration, and energy. YOU QUIT FLOUNDERING IN YOUR INDECISION AND FLOURISH IN YOUR NEW DIRECTION. Not every decision you make will be the right one. Realize that and understand successful people learn from wrong decisions and then move on.

Never look back or second guess your decision; that takes energy away from making your decision work.

DECIDE NOW … will you always say “Some Day” or is today “Day One” of your new future?