The Four Pillars of Decisions – ElPropósito4 min de lectura

What makes a decision so hard?

Photo by Steinar Engeland on Unsplash

Procrastination used to be my best friend. Leaving everything for the last minute, dodging decisions, living out Parkinson’s Law, waiting for some magic to turn my plans into reality: all of that was part of me. Turning it around took real awareness of freedom (first pillar) and responsibility (second pillar). We own our future and the decisions (third pillar) we make to get there. Read on for more on this powerful topic and how it shapes our choices.

Circling every decision are things like procrastination, fear, anxiety, insecurity and discomfort, among others. Also circling are vision (fourth pillar), our passions, and the calm and confidence that, once we decide, bring freedom and fulfillment. Dwell on the first group (the negative) and you stay put, with nothing changing.

When we decide from a clear vision of where we want to go, the process gets easier. In What’s the best way to make a decision? I concluded that if you don’t know where you’re going, any decision will do, and that road obviously ends in settling for anything.

What happens when we know which decision we should make and choose another one? The root reason is our freedom to choose. Without it, a society could hardly exist, because even a bad decision brings experiences that teach us lessons and help us do better next time. Still, some tools will always lead to good decisions. Read on.

Making a decision is the easy part. The complexity lies in the story we tell ourselves about it: What if…? But how will I…? Many of those stories are wrapped in beliefs that cloud the way and, in the end, explain how long we take to act. That’s why working on our beliefs is essential to getting better. It means spotting them and seeing how they drain our energy and pull us into the future and the past, when a decision requires us to be in the present.

We all carry an inner compass, and it’s our Life Purpose. It sets the course, and again, the freedom to live in line with it is in our hands. When our decisions align with it, we feel confidence, calm and the clarity that we’re doing the right thing at the right time.

Finally, a few questions to reflect on: What decision are you about to make? Are you putting it off? How could you reorganize your thinking? Which road should you take, and how can you find peace and calm in a decision? Will the decision you’re about to make let you live in line with your Life Purpose? Do you know your Life Purpose? If not, I invite you to discover it and make it your best guide for every decision.

Warm regards and all the best,

Rodrigo Baccaro

This week’s VELA:

• What I’ve been Viewing: Eating everything isn’t good for your health. By nutritionist Julio Basulto. Finding him and this video was a gem: myths, truths, beliefs, misleading advertising and a thousand other topics in what may be one of the best interviews on health and nutrition I’ve seen. Several of his books are already on their way to me.
• What I’ve been Listening to: The Art of Productivity. From Tony Robbins’ podcast, a great interview on how to achieve what we want while staying aware of the time we have and how we invest it, without neglecting the other areas of life that need attention too. A good listen on work-life balance.
• What I’ve been Reading: To Be Successful, Chase Your Purpose, Not Your Passion. A wonderful article, especially because it covers one of the topics I love most and talk about most (it even gave my blog its name): Purpose. Passion and purpose are very different things, and as a coach, discovering a client’s Life Purpose is always the first step we take together. If you’re thinking about changing jobs, making a big decision, reorganizing your life or supporting your team, this article is worth reading.
• What I’ve been Learning: The art of misdirection. A TED talk by a pickpocket. Wonderful and worth watching. It shows how misdirection leaves us extremely vulnerable (with extreme examples), and also the flip side: how to learn to focus our attention and what that focus can give us.

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

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