Inspiration | Personal Growth

How do you make most decisions? Are you cautious, hesitant, or decisive? Do you weigh every option or cut straight to the bottom line? Living a meaningful life hinges on making the right choices — but what should you consider when making them? After years of reflecting on this, I've identified four key considerations that can guide you. Let's explore them.

Four considerations for making decisions

As you grow older, certain things come into sharper focus. It took me years to truly understand that our thoughts create our lives. They shape who we are and who we're becoming. While these ideas have been known and written about for centuries, they often require significant live events to make them truly resonate. As I enter the later stages of life, four considerations have helped me make better decisions:

• Getting to the bottom line
• Who are you becoming?
• What makes up your life?
• What will you leave behind?

Let's look at these four things and explore how they can guide us in making wiser decisions as we continue our life journeys.

What is your bottom line?

A recent incident made me reflect deeply on my life. As a bottom-line-driven businessman for many years before retiring, I began to ask, "What is the bottom line of my life?" Have you ever considered such a question?

Everyone's bottom line may differ, but I find wisdom in the words of philosophical writer James Allen, who said over a century ago, "You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you." As I've aged, it's become increasingly clear that our thoughts shape our reality. They define everything about who we are.

Since life is finite, we must consider the end — our own bottom line. In the final analysis, only one thing truly matters — relationships — especially with those we love. Possessions like houses, cars, and wealth lose all significance when we face death.

Losing my first wife to cancer made this truth inescapable. In her last days, nothing mattered more than our daughter, myself, and a few close family members and friends. That was her bottom line, and now, it is mine.

As author Jack Canfield wrote, "The bottom line is that you are the one who is creating your life the way it is. The life you currently live is the result of all your past thoughts and actions. You are in charge of your current thoughts and your present feelings." Why not reflect on how your bottom line will shape your future?

Who are you becoming?

As mature adults, we realize we alone bear the responsibility for the direction of our lives. Yet, those closest to us and our social circles profoundly influence who we are and will be. As Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th president, aptly put it, "What I am to be, I am becoming."

Our thoughts, choices, and actions are not isolated events; they are forces that continuously shape our destiny. Every decision we make today contributes to the person we will be tomorrow. That's why it's crucial to exercise wisdom in our choices. How? By investing our time in meaningful activities and being mindful of the information and influences we allow into our lives.

The company we keep, the places we frequent, and the activities we engage in shape our identity. Every decision leaves a lasting impact on our personal story and the world around us.

What makes up your life?

The life you live is a direct result of your choices, your focus, and your actions. It's shaped by what you do and don't do, the limitations you place on yourself, and the risks you take.

From my journals, I've compiled a list of the factors that have shaped my life so far. It is through such things we become that creative force.

So far, the results of my life come from:

• What I do, not just what I know.
• Who I am and who I'm becoming.
• What I invest time, attention, and resources into.
• Living intentionally and creatively rather than reactively.
• Clarifying my values, which shape my priorities.
• Freeing myself from self-limiting beliefs and embracing empowering ones.
• The time and attention I give to what really matters.
• The risks I take.
• Facing my fears rather than letting them control me.
• Encouraging the best in others.
• Exploring more perspectives with an open mind.
• Practicing gratitude and thanksgiving.
• Continuously cultivating a growth mindset.
• Making a conscious effort to increase the significance of my life.
• Building meaningful relationships, the essence of life.
• Choosing to work ON my life, not just IN it.
• Being a lifelong learner.
• Accepting Christ in my heart and being with Him forever, which surpasses all else!

Abraham Lincoln once said, "In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." Why not take some time to reflect on what's shaping your life and who you're becoming? You're worth it.

What will you leave behind?

After my wife's passing, I realized she left behind much more than material possessions. Her legacy lives on through her writings, our daughter, our shared memories, and the many lives she touched. She also lives on in the photos and videos we have of her. Though she is gone, she is far from forgotten.

What will you leave behind when you're gone? Material possessions will fade, but the impact you've had on others, the memories you've created, and the words you've written will endure. Their effect will be transferred to those they touch and passed on in some form so long as humanity exists. Why? Because of the "butterfly effect," rippling through time from one person to many, touching others in ways we may never know, echoing through time and perhaps even eternity.

As Thomas Campbell wrote, "To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die."

Final thoughts

The bottom line is this: we create our lives through our thoughts and actions. When we reach the end, we alone are responsible for the life we've lived. If life doesn't turn out as we'd hoped, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Be intentional while you still have time. Create the life you want. It's never too late to become someone who leaves a lasting legacy. Work toward building a life that others will remember fondly, and keep striving until your last breath. As actor James Woods said, "The bottom line is to be in control of your own destiny."

If you take nothing else away from this essay, remember this: The results you achieve come from working ON your life, not just IN it. It is up to you to take the reins and guide your life in the best direction. That is the bottom line!

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Bill Abbate Leadership Writer and Editor in ILLUMINATION

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