How to make the most progress in life: make the best decisions (not just good ones)

If we were to break down our day into pieces, we would see that it is comprised of hundreds, perhaps even thousands of decisions.  What time should I wake up? Do I hit the snooze button?  Do I wake up early today to work out? Am I going to go to work today? Should I really devote 100% of energy and effort to what I am currently doing? We are all confronted throughout every single day with a litany of decisions and as long as we are making good decisions about what we are doing, it seems to be a logical assumption that we are doing things the best way.

The alternaview:
The alternaview is that in order to make the most progress in life, we have to push beyond just making good decisions and make certain we are always making the best decision. The difference between good decisions and the best decision is often times subtle, but the positive impact that making the best decision can have on our lives makes clearly understanding the distinction a worthwhile venture.

From the time we were young, our parents, teachers, counselors and just about everyone else in our lives worked on teaching us the difference between right and wrong decisions. We are very much aware that there are benefits when we make the right decision and do the right thing; there are also negative ramifications that are usually easy to see, either immediately or sometime in the future, when we make and act upon the wrong decision.  (i.e. when we are rude to people → we get rudeness back; when we don’t eat the way we know we should → we don’t feel at our best; when we do something halfheartedly → we get a shoddy result).

For the most part, we understand the difference between right and wrong.  That is not our issue.  The majority of us fall into the category where we are making good decisions about our life and what we are doing a large percentage of the time.  We are thoughtful, diligent, dedicated to our work or professions, and considerate.  We may make mistakes here and there, but overall we are a good person.  People tend to like us and things are slowly but surely progressing in our lives and falling into place.  Honestly, this is not a bad category to fall into.  There are a lot of really good people who fit this description and they are all in general moving in the right direction in life…slowly, but surely.

That’s cool…

BUT, if you want something more and want to take quantum leaps forward from time-to-time, then you are going to have to do things a little differently.  You are going to have to step things up a notch.  We have to take decision making one step farther and go beyond being satisfied with making good decisions.  You have to make the best decisions, which means you need to understand the distinction and then continually choose to act on the best decision.

The challenge is that often times the good decision can be attractive because it is not wrong nor does it necessarily have negative ramifications. Even though it will not propel you forward as much as you could possibly go, there will be a corresponding benefit from making a good decision and so it is easy to assume you are doing all that you can and should.  The problem is not that it is not a good decision, but just that it is not the best decision. The good decision will just not ultimately serve you as well.

As an example, a lot of times we will choose a good decision over the best decision because sometimes the best decision requires a little more of us.

The Good Decision: It is a good decision to attend a charity event your company is having on a Friday night.  You don’t really feel like going, so you go for a couple of minutes, speak to your boss and some colleagues and then slip out.  Considering the fact that only 50% of the employees showed up at all, you get credit.  You made a good decision.

The Best Decision: You do more than just make an appearance at the company’s charity event.  You actually volunteer to help out during the event and you stay for the majority of the time.  Yes, you have to give up your Friday night, but you do so willingly because it is an important event for the charity and the company.  You made the best decision.

This is the subtle distinction we have to continually be aware of and make certain that 9 times out of 10, we are acting on the best decision.  It is not that we are doing the wrong thing when we act on the good decision, it is just that there is something better out there and therein lies the difference.

Those people who are continually making the greatest strides in life are continually acting on more and more of the best decisions.  They are choosing the best decisions at the time that help push them in the right direction the farthest.  There are just more benefits when you make the best decisions.

Why?

Making more and more of the best decisions just helps things fall into place quicker. Think about it as a challenge to add more and more coins to a giant piggy bank. You are happier and everything just works out better depending on how full your giant piggy bank is.

A Bad Decision =  -1 to -6 coins (depending on how bad the decision was)

A Good Decision =  + 2 coins

The Best Decision =  + 6 coins

Those coins add up and as you get more and more, life improves correspondingly.  After you hit a certain threshold, things just start clicking even more and every time you make another deposit, you receive some type of benefit in the future.

Now, you can make lots and lots of Good Decisions and they will most certainly add up over time.  You will be increasing your decision wealth (2 coins at a time) and things will be going good.  However, you can also choose to make as many Best Decisions as you can and watch your coins increase much quicker.   You will notice things in your life change for the better quicker and as long as you continue to make the Best Decisions things will stay better.  You will be consistently moving in the right direction at a much faster speed.

How to use this alternaview:

1.  Notice the breakdown of decisions throughout the day. For several days, make a concerted effort to focus on every decision you are making.  Analyze your options for every decision and compare and compare and contrast them.  Of your options, which one is the best decision?  Be honest with yourself and then choose to act on the best decision.  I am tired today so I am only going to exercise 20 minutes = a Good Decision because some exercise is better than none at all.  I am tired today, but I am going to push through that and exercise 30 minutes like I usually do = the Best Decision.

2. Work on making the Best decision a habit. The more and more you focus on always making the right decision, the more it gets ingrained into your thinking.  You will get better and better at it and you will see it become a habit and the way you do things.  This is ideal because some of the Right Decisions need to become automatic.

3. Don’t beat yourself up when you are not perfect. It’s okay if you are not choosing the best decision and acting on the best decision a hundred percent of the time.  It happens and is human nature. The goal is to just make certain that the vast majority of your decisions are the best ones and that you are consciously making decisions and aware of what you are choosing.  Sometimes though you just may want to sleep in on a Monday and not get up early to do a project. That’s okay as long as your future decisions are going to eventually balance out that decision (i.e. On Wednesday you work a little longer to make up for Monday).  You do get some passes.

4.  Understand that making more of the best decisions really does work. It’s important to understand the benefits associated with making the best decisions.  This is by no means an exercise that you will devote a lot of time and energy to and see no return on your investment.  As long as you are genuinely committed to making the best decisions and have a desire deep down to do the best things as much as possible, the benefits you will see appear are unlimited.  This is the way life was meant to be lived and when you are in sync with it, the benefits appear in all aspects of your life.

5. Acknowledge and reward yourself for making the best decisions. Give yourself credit when you make the best decisions.  Often times the best decisions are not the easiest decisions and so we should give ourselves credit for not just taking the easy route.  We can use the positive feelings we experience when we make the best decisions as momentum to keep on going.  We need to continually motivate ourselves to make the best decisions and so we should reward ourselves when we do.

The reality is that you could probably live a good life by making continual good decisions.  However, we should want the most out of life that is possible and be willing to do anything and everything we can to get it.  We should be focused on consistent improvement, continual movement in the right direction and making the most progress in life as is possible.  What that means is we are going to have to step our game up to the next level when it comes to decisions and that requires us to not just make good decisions, but to make the best decision as much as we can…this is the alternaview.

What do you think about this alternavew?  Do you make the best decisions?

Related alternaviews:

Doing the right things really do lead to a better life

How to enjoy a better life by choosing the conflict free route

It's all about getting out of your own way