Comedians often have the best insight into life. In his stand-up, comedian Bert Kreischer talks about how when he got married he made a very conscious decision to never cheat on his wife. Because of this, every time he has a conversation with a female, he looks at them and shouts “I WON’T CHEAT ON MY WIFE!”
This is so awesome because he made this conscious decision on his wedding day and sticks to it wholeheartedly. He says he risks getting slapped, embarrassed, or whatever he has to risk, but he will not allow the temptation to even start to settle in, because he already decided cheating is not a possibility for him.
We’ve got something to learn from Bert and his ability to stick to his decisions.
Your Word is Your Bond
What did you get from this little anecdote from Bert? Hopefully, it got you thinking about what it means to decide.
Growing up someone told me “Your word is your bond”. While it may be easy to break bonds you make with other people, when you break the bonds you make with yourself they follow you around.
Say you want to start getting up early to have a motivating morning routine. So you start by setting your alarm clock for a half-hour earlier than usual. When you ignore that alarm or keep pressing snooze, you’re breaking that bond with yourself and throwing off your whole day. In the long term, all those snoozes add up and take you that much further from your goals.
To Cut off From
The word decide comes from a Latin word meaning “To cut off from.”
When you make a decision, you cut yourself off from other decisions, and from the distractions and burdens that might hold you back from reaching your goals. To make a decision about your life is your way of saying;
“I will not cheat on my wife.”
“I will not cheat on my success.”
“I will not cheat on my goals.”
“I will not cheat on my opportunity.”
“I will not cheat on what I’m meant to become!”
When you say this with passion and conviction, that’s what it means to make a decision. If your words don’t have these qualities, then they aren’t a decision, they’re more like a dream or a fairytale.
Marrying Your Decisions
When you make a decision, you can think of it like a marriage. You made it for a reason. It’s meant to benefit your life, to steer you in the right direction, to help align you to your life’s purpose, not serve as a distraction.
Next time you’re procrastinating, or thinking about settling for less than you deserve, or waiver in moments of indecisiveness, remember your goals.
Will this decision take you closer to what you want your life to be like?
When you decide in the moment to support these goals, you increase your confidence. This in turn helps to increase your self-esteem, make you more likely to follow through, and help create a cycle of clear decision making.
Say you’re trying to cut back on your carb intake, but your friend invites you to all-you-can-eat sushi. While you might be able to stick to your diet, more likely than not you’ll give in to the irresistible rice-filled temptation.
Think about the different outcomes of this situation: You go out to sushi, you leave full, but feeling slightly ashamed and like you set yourself back on your goals. Or you say no to your friend, or suggest going somewhere where you can stick to your diet.
If it feels like you’re depriving yourself, try a change of mentality. When you say no to one thing, you’re actually saying yes to something else. Really, you’re saying yes to yourself.
You’re saying no to sushi, but you’re saying yes to whatever is making you want to cut back on carbs in the first place.
You’re saying no to the temptation of cheating, but yes to your wonderful, loving marriage.
That conviction around your decisions carries over to every other area of your life. It helps you prove to yourself that you can accomplish your goals, you can reach new levels of success in your life, you can stay true to the vows you made to yourself.
Every moment in life is a decision, so keep this in mind as you go through your day. Remember what it means to you to decide. Honor the decisions you make, say yes to your decisions, and say yes to yourself.
