Good morning & happy Monday!
“Decisions decide destiny, there is no action without decision.”
– Tony Robbins, author & motivational speaker
I recently was listening to a John Maxwell podcast, and they were interviewing Craig Groeschel, pastor and author.
Through the years I have read a book or two from Craig (and I own a few more I have not yet read) and he has had some really valuable content to share in this podcast.
In this particular interview he was talking about the decisions we make and the impact they have on our lives. Let’s just say it took a while for me to get through this podcast because I kept pausing it to email myself some of his powerful statements. Here are the four of his quotes from that podcast that really stuck with me:
- When your values are clear, your decisions are easy.
- The quality of our decisions determines the quality of our life.
- You are a direct result of the decisions you have made.
- When we are born, we look like our parents; when we die, we look like our decisions.
I found these statements to be profound and I’ve really been chewing on them since I heard them.
If interested, here is the entire 35 minutes podcast link: Think Ahead with Craig Groeschel (Maxwell Leadership Podcast) (youtube.com)
Decisions. We make them all the time. In fact, I’ve seen research that says we make roughly 35,000 decisions per day.
That’s insane! No wonder by the end of the day I’m exhausted and don’t want to make any decisions at all. Even a simple decision like my wife asking me, “What do you want for dinner?” is stressful. I’m all decisioned-out! I think the more technical term is decision fatigue, but I think decisioned-out works. 😊
In thinking about this further I think our decisions fall into one of three main categories:
- Inconsequential decisions. These are going to be the majority of our daily decisions. Paper or plastic? Publix or ALDI? Name brand or generic? These have very little impact on us in the short term or long term. We are probably making many of these decisions subconsciously without actually giving it any major thought. Our brains are trained to do this because if we truly evaluate every decision then virtually nothing would get done (paralysis by analysis).
- Decisions that have consequences over time. These can be tricky because there may not be immediate consequences but there are most certainly long-term consequences with consistency. Go to bed or stay up late? Fast food or salad? Exercise or watch TV? These decisions made consistently over time will shape our lives. It’s not that if I eat a burger over a salad one time that I’m going to directly suffer from that decision, but that decision made repeatedly and consistently will result in me being likely weighing more than I want and being less healthy than I want. These are the small decisions that over time have significant long-term consequences.
- Huge decisions. These are the decisions that we [fortunately] make way less frequently, but when we do they shape our lives. Do I marry this person? Do I put an offer in on this house? How do I respond to God? Do I accept that career change? Do I retire now? These are big decisions that carry significant weight for our lives. There are decisions we shouldn’t take lightly and should cause us to evaluate from multiple angles and seek wise council on.
Investment decisions usually fall into the 2nd category … decisions that have consequences over time (see Monday morning memo from February 19th). We must decide every month to take money that we could spend and instead set it aside for our future. If this is done consistently month-in and month-out then we are going to be in such better shape than if we only occasionally decide to save the surplus. I am most certainly here to help encourage, challenge, and evaluate these investment decisions to ensure you are on track for your financial objectives.
Since I’m dropping quotes all over the place today, this seems like an appropriate time for the quote by Marie Forleo “Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally, it comes from what you do consistently.”
Now, occasionally investment decisions fall into the huge decisions category (category 3 listed above). This usually happens when the market takes a significant drop. As an example, if you see your $1,000,000 portfolio go to $775,000 it is likely causing a lot of anxiety in your life. There will be a very strong temptation to alter your course and make an emotionally charged decision to bail. This would be a huge decision that at the time may feel right, but all history teaches us would likely be catastrophic. It is at these times you decide: stay the course or freak out and bail. It is times like these that my role as your financial planner is vital. Avoiding a critical mistake at times like this can literally be the defining moment of decades of investing work. I commit to always leading you with wisdom at such times.
This topic of decision making has really captivated my mind and attention recently and I will actually be talking about this topic further when I deliver the main message at my church this Sunday. If you would like to dive into this topic of decision making a bit further from a Biblical perspective, I welcome you to join me at CenterPoint Church on Sunday (March 10th) @ 10:30am.
If there is anything I can do to support you in making better financial decisions, I am more than honored to do so.
One last quote, this one from the Bible: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” – Proverbs 27:17. I believe together we make each other better … and that is a tremendous blessing! Thank you for being a blessing in my life!
Make it a great week ahead!