Decisions, decisions, always decisions!

How many decisions do you make in a day? Researchers say that, as adults, the average person makes about 35,000 decisions every day – most of them at lightning speed. Whew! We’re tired already! From the time the alarm goes off in the morning we continuously make decisions. Do I spring out of bed or hit the snooze button? What to wear? Do I eat breakfast, if so, what to eat? Do I turn on the radio, if so, what station? On and on it goes throughout the day.

Some decisions will be made consciously and others are made without even being aware of them. Have you ever driven somewhere and it’s almost like you are on autopilot? Some decisions are automatic because they have become habits. Whether conscious or unaware of your decisions, your decisions are shaping your life.

Many decisions are small, such as do I have a doughnut and coke for breakfast or do I have a protein smoothie with fruit. It’s easy to think of these small decisions as being insignificant for that day, yet over time they can make a significant difference in your life. Deciding not to exercise that day – no big deal. Deciding not to exercise any day – big deal! We often spend much thought about the “big” decisions of our life such as what career to follow, who to marry, where to live. It’s easy to see the impact these decisions can have on our lives. Yet, over time, the cumulative effect of a series of “small” decisions can also have a major impact on our lives – positive or negative.

Lately, we have been looking at how the decisions we make shape our lives. Here’s what happened to us many years ago. We had not yet met. Doug was meeting with someone at Perkins in Hopkins about doing some singing. I (Lynn) was working on a photo shoot nearby and my colleague convinced me to just tag along to the same meeting. We all sat at a long table and everyone was introduced. Doug and I were at opposite ends of the table and we didn’t get to talk to each other but there must have been some mutual attraction. Later we met at a church dance, became friends and then became more – and now we have been happily married for many years. Who would have thought a small decision to attend that meeting at Perkins would eventually lead to a big decision to marry!

We met Jeff Krulik and asked him about decisions. Jeff said, “The best decision I ever made was marrying my wife, Tess Tobeck, or Krulik now, for the last 40 years.” We asked Jeff how he met his wife and he answered, “I took a job with Cherne Contracting. I sat down at my desk on the first day and at coffee break she walked up to my desk, looked at me and said, ‘I wish they’d hired the other guy’. That was the beginning of our relationship, July 20th, 1976.” We thought that she must be really glad now that they hired him. Jeff added, “Me, too! I’m glad they hired me.”

We asked Jeff what makes it such a good marriage. He shared, “We genuinely like each other. We enjoy doing things together. We love to travel together. We love parenting together. We love watching our grandkids together and a lot of things. We just got back from a trip to Washington, DC last week. She went to a baseball game which I like and not necessarily that she likes, but she went along with me and I went with her to the Holocaust Museum. It was a win – win. We both enjoy each other’s company and going to the things we both wanted to do. So, we’ve always compromised throughout life and have enjoyed that.” We’re glad that Jeff shared how to have a wonderful marriage by compromising and doing things together.

How about you? What kind of decisions are you making daily in your life? What are the cumulative effects of those decisions?

Here are some suggestions: If you know some of your decisions are not the best for you, decide today to make better decisions. Tony Robbins said, ”It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” Remember, making no decision is still a decision. You are always making decisions and the better your decisions are, the better your life will be. We would enjoy hearing from you how a decision you made, big or small, changed your life.

Chanhassen residents Doug and Lynn Nodland are Success Coaches and owners of The Balance Center. They can be contacted at WeCare@SharingLifesLessons.com

© Doug and Lynn Nodland 2018 Articles and videos may be shared in their entirety with attribution.