The Small Decision That Changed My Life

I can profoundly remember where I was at, what I was doing, and what was going through my head. It was a quiet night in December and I could hear the wind howling just outside the window. It was the middle of the night and I was staring up at the ceiling, into the darkness, wide eyed with my mind in overdrive. You know what I’m talking about - one of those nights where you’re thinking to yourself “this is awesome” and counting sheep just isn’t going to cut it.

I was engulfed with what was going on in my life at the time and had been feeling overwhelmed. There seemed to be more and more of these nights and reflections happening but that night was different. I was physically, mentally, and emotionally drained and felt like I had lost any sort of direction. The person who tried to show up with a smile every day seemed to hardly be able to crack one anymore. He was gone.

As I stared into the darkness I whispered to myself “how in the world did I get here?” A few moments later I felt a tear slowly stream down the side of my face.

Around that time I had been aggressively riding the waves through life and was waiting for the next wave to help me up again. However, this time it didn’t feel like another wave was coming. I was stuck at the bottom.

“This isn’t you” I kept thinking. “Where’s your confidence?” “What happened?"

After a lot of reflection and reassurance I sat up in bed, as calm as I’ve ever been, and made a statement:

I am not going to live like this anymore. I am going to change my life.

It might not seem like the biggest decision I’ve ever made, or one you were maybe expecting. Unfortunately I didn’t decide to create an ice cream that has 0 calories. The decision wasn’t as life altering as investing in Amazon in 1997. But here’s what it was: simple, easy to plan out, and probably most importantly of all - I believed it.

One of the beautiful things about life is that we have the power to create it for ourselves. We all get told at a young age that we can be whoever we want to be when we grow up. My question is this - why do we stop believing it? Why do the majority of us get comfortable and settle with ourselves or become just a fraction of our potential?

For me, it was all about my circumstances. After career changes and two big moves that didn’t go nearly as smooth as planned for I was spent. As I previously mentioned in Wave Rider, my circumstances had been defining who I was. I let those outside experiences, events, and people determine how I was showing up day in and day out. It was my “belief” in or “connection” to these circumstances that brought me to the frame of mind I was describing above.

I invite you to take a quick break and think to yourself if this has happened to you. Has there been a specific circumstance - an event, a relationship, a job, a loss, a move, a comment from someone - that you felt or continue to feel identified by? Did this affect how you showed up every day? Did it change you? In what ways?

Shoot me your thoughts through the form below. All prompts are sent directly to my email and will not be viewed or shared with anyone else. I appreciate your contribution and thank you for your participation!

I have grown immensely since that night and learned more about myself in the last 9 months than possibly my entire life. The reason I was able to grow and change is because I firmly made a decision to. That decision led to a plan, a focus on fulfillment, a realignment of my habits, and a daily reaffirmation that I was never going back there.

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What I found out over that period of time, and what I am hoping you take away from the decision I made, is this: Decisions, changes, steps in our lives don’t need to be huge or life altering. It’s the little things in life, the small shifts that we make - that's where we grow. It’s the subtle decisions that can shape who we want to be.

Change can come in the simplest form. Do you want to be more positive? Start small by listing 3 things you were thankful for about the day you just had, each day. Cut a few calories and sweets little by little every day until you start to notice some results. Spend 20 minutes a day learning that instrument you’ve always wanted to play. Want to be more comfortable financially? Read 10 pages of a finance book each night. If you do that for a month that’s 300 pages - lets call that an average book for length. Your 10 pages a night could turn into 12 books a year. Twelve books a year? The knowledge you could acquire! That’s an easy example too - my sister read the entire 7th Harry Potter book in one sitting. However, no one would call her normal.

It’s the little things.

It’s those small shifts that move the needle. For me that statement started a revival. I continue to practice, learn, and grow every single day and am excited to continue this journey! A simple mindset shift changed the course of my life. A simple mindset shift can change the course of YOUR life.

There have been several moments, changes, hills, and valleys since then but I will never forget that December night. Have you gone through some of these moments in your life? How have they shaped the person you are today?

I would love to hear a story about a decision that impacted your life! Send me some thoughts through the form above or shoot me a quick note anytime at theitsjustjakeblog@gmail.com. Lets continue the conversation and share the experiences we go through in our daily lives! Thank you for continuing to inspire me.

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