Leaders with a Mentor Mindset know it’s not the current conditions that shape our life. It’s the DECISIONS we make that shapes our life. Leaders help those they lead make better decisions.

Let’s face it…it’s your decisions that have brought you to your current situation.  If you are enjoying your current circumstances in the areas of relationships, money, and health congratulations, you have strung together good decisions. If you are not so enamored with where you find yourself, you have some work to do as it relates to making better decisions.

There are eight key areas in life where we have to make decisions on an ongoing basis in order to affect the overall life we desire.  This week, let’s look at those and explore what good decision making can look like.

For each area of your life write down a number between 1 and 10 that represents your satisfaction in that particular area. (1 regretful through 10 being ecstatic)

  1. Career / Business – 
  2. Money –
  3. Health –
  4. Friends & Family –
  5. Significant Other / Romance –
  6. Personal Growth –
  7. Fun & Recreation –
  8. Physical Environment –

For each area reflect and notice what was a one-time decision  you made  or an ongoing decision you make regularly that is affecting the satisfaction level of that area, good or bad.

Acknowledge your good decision making ability if you have ranked an area in your life as a 7 or above.  Acknowledge your opportunity to improve your decision making ability for areas with a 6 or less.

To help you make some quick progress in the area you desire, identify an area you have marked with a 6 or less.  Identify and list out some of the decisions that have led to your lower  level of satisfaction. Recognize they were decisions you made and that you are not your decisions.

Identify 3 new decisions you can make from this point onward to move up your satisfaction score.  If it is in the area of your health, it could be decide to  drink more water, exercise more, and limit or eliminate sugar.  If your circumstances find you with more money left at the end of your month, then better decisions may look like – reduce expenses, change job, enroll in a class or program to learn budgeting and  money management.

Your power to create what you want in life is generated in the moments you decide. The root of the word decide means to cut off.  To help you make good decisions become clear about what you need to cut off, stop doing, quit, say “no” to,  or move away from, that will help you become more aligned with what you want.

Know WHY you must make better decisions. Be clear what the payoff will be to you and others for having made better decisions.  Understanding your hierarchy of values will help you understand why you do or don’t do things.

“When your values are clear your decisions are easy.” – Roy Disney

By building the habit of asking ourselves better questions and becoming clear of our hierarchy of values we can make better decisions faster thereby leading to a more successful and fulfilling life.