The Power of One Decision
Written by Steve Goldberg   
Monday, 07 July 2008

The idea that one decision can change the course your life may seem strange or almost unthinkable. However, because each experience and each action has a reaction and a consequence, this idea is not so far-fetched. It is, in fact, very true, and when employed well, and with one hundred percent effort it can change the course of your life forever.

The Difference Between Decisions and Actions

Actions are daily habits and routines. An action might be brushing your teeth, taking out the garbage, cooking dinner, taking a shower or doing laundry. An action is something that you do without thinking about it. A decision is either a thought or an action with purpose behind it. A decision marks the end of traveling in one direction and the beginning of traveling in a different direction. A decision either creates a fork in the road, or is made by selecting one direction over another when presented with a choice.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

--Robert Frost, Mountain Interval, 1906

Many interpret that the true meaning in Robert Frost’s poem is that taking the road less traveled was the best choice. The real truth of the verses are that the act of choosing is the most important action—not the outcome.


The Time is Now

A decision born from the necessity of choosing between available options can be difficult and downright painful. There is most often never a good time to do so. If the decision must be made quickly and without much deliberation, it can be nerve-wracking because it is not planned, and you cannot think about the outcome. An example of this might include the following scenario.

You have been working in a job that fulfills most career goals and provides you with self-actualization opportunities on a daily basis. For all intents and purposes, you have “made it” and could easily remain at the job for years to come. There is one problem—you and your boss do not see eye to eye, and have not for a long time. Despite that fact, you have not put much thought into leaving, but preferred to overlook that detail and persevere, benefiting from the other aspects of the job. One day, your boss presents you with a dramatically altered job description and plan for your future in the organization. You are, immediately, faced with a decision to be made. Stay—and slowly the negatives of the job will become more influential in your life, or leave and jump into the unknown. Your decision to stay or to go will influence the course of the rest of your life.

Stay, and you risk losing all interest and opportunities in the positive aspects of the job and becoming weighed down with the negatives. Such stress could put your relationships and health under stress.

Go, and you take a leap into the great unknown. You must re-invent yourself, re-build your life and start over. You may have to work more and harder than you ever have, but it might be worth it.

Yet Knowing How Way Leads on to Way

Like the traveler in Frost’s poem, when faced with a choice, it is impossible to know what the eventual outcome will be. There will be more choices, more forks in the road and more decisions, each hinging on the last, each made without benefit of knowing what the future holds. When you decide, you must commit wholeheartedly. You cannot change your past, but you can keep choosing your future direction. You choose, and you go for it. If you do not succeed as you had first planned, you can make a different choice in the future. Alternatively, you might succeed in a way you never expected, opening entirely new doors.

One Decision Can Change Your Life

When you make a conscious decision to purse a course of action, the only certainty is that your life will never be the same after the decision is made. You will have new experiences from which you will grow and change. The only bad decision is indecision. Choose, confidently and forge a path. You create your own success.

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