Category Archives: Creative Journey

How To Make Great Decisions in 6 Easy Steps

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How To Make Great DecisionsIndecision has been something that’s plagued me to some extent or another my entire life. Especially as a child, I’d be paralyzed when it came to making decisions. There were occasions where, as a very young girl, I had made some particular decisions independently (and even confidently!), thinking that whatever it was I had decided to do was surely a good idea and would benefit not only myself but others too… but sadly, I hadn’t yet learned to take into account the reactions of, say, a parent with an irrational temper. Often, it’d result in being yelled or screamed at, or sometimes even worse. Yikes!

Going forward, this type of conditioning can really damage a young person and their ability to make future decisions. You soon learn that a poor decision might not only result in an undesired outcome, but that it might very well result in some form of reprimand or punishment, too. I think this is why I became so fearful of making decisions from such a young age. Add a dose of perfectionism into the mix, and you’ve got a great recipe for debilitating indecision.

Although I’m still not as decisive as I’d like to be, I’d still say that I’m SOOO much better at making decisions than I ever used to be. For example, even ordering something from a menu used to feel excruciating…. let alone making big life decisions like figuring out which field of study to major in at university, or whether or not to break up with a fiancé when things started to fall apart.

Little decisions are usually pretty easy these days. Sometimes, though, I might still feel uncertain or confused when it comes to making other more important decisions that are likely to have a significant impact on my life.

A couple years ago, I made my first video ever with the intent of posting it up on YouTube. But even though I published it on YouTube over two years ago, I never wrote about it here on my blog! I titled the video, “How To Make Great Decisions in 6 Easy Steps“.

Truth be told, I felt a little nervous and self-conscious when making this video. When I was a kid, the first time I ever heard my recorded voice played back to me, I cried and cried, horrified to discover that that was what I really sounded like. Thankfully, I’m not that self-conscious anymore. Although, of course, I still have my moments… We all have our moments, don’t we? (Objectively, I think I come across in the video as being sort of quirky and maybe even a little dorky. But oh well…)

Anyway, I recently thought about this video because I feel as though I am currently faced with needing to make a lot of decisions about my future career, creative path, and life as a whole. So I decided to revisit this video, and it actually helps a lot! I figured I might as well share it here on my blog, too, in hopes that it might help others as well.

In the video I describe a process for making great decisions in six easy steps.


Those six steps are…

  1. Dream
  2. Enthusiasm
  3. Congruence
  4. Integrity
  5. Dedication
  6. Execution

As you’ve probably noticed, the six steps themselves are an acronym that spells out “DECIDE“.

  1. Dream:
    The first step, Dream, could also easily be Daydream, or even Desire. In this step, use your imagination to dream about what kind of results and experiences you desire. Make a list of the different possibilities that pop into your head while you daydream.

  2. Enthusiasm:
    In step two, review your list from the previous step and take note of which items on your list result in feelings of Excitement and Enthusiasm.

  3. Congruence:
    Now look over each of these possible decisions that made you feel enthusiasm, and review each of them through the filters of Heart, Mind, Body, Spirit. …How does each possibility align with all four of these quadrants? What you’re looking for here is congruence — alignment with as many of these four areas as possible.I’d strongly recommend you discard the possibilities that only align with one or two of the four categories. Take note of the possibilities that align with at least three but preferably all four of the Heart, Mind, Body, Spirit categories, and then continue on to the next step.

    (Note: If needed, you can watch the video for a more thorough description of the Heart, Mind, Body and Spirit alignments. If none of the items on your list meet at least three of these alignments, then I’d strongly suggest revisiting step one to dream up some more ideas.)

  4. Integrity:
    In this step, it’s time to review each of your most congruently aligned possibilities in the context of your personal Integrity. How might each possible decision or course of action align with your morals and values? What’s important to you? You want to avoid making decisions that violate your morals and values. Making decisions that clearly exemplify your most dearly held beliefs, morals and values are decisions that demonstrate your personal integrity.

  5. Dedication:
    Review each of your remaining possible decision options and ask yourself if you’re willing to fully dedicate and commit yourself to carrying out this potential decision. Consider the time, energy, effort, work… all the possible resources you may need to spend in order to fully dedicate yourself to making this decision a reality.  Are you ready to do what it takes? If the answer is “no” for any of your decisions that are still up for consideration, then eliminate it from your list.

  6. Execution:
    By this point, any decision possibilities that are still left on your list are virtually guaranteed to be great decisions… great decisions for you, at least. Now it’s time for the final step — Execution! In other words, execute your decision by taking all the necessary action steps that are needed to reach your desired goal.Sometimes it helps to make a big list of all the necessary action steps that you’ll need to make, and then simply ploughing through the list and crossing off each step as you execute it. Once you execute all the steps on your list, you’re done!…Congratulations!! You’ve turned something that merely started off as a dream into part of your reality!! 😀 Woohoo!!!

I know I’ll certainly be using this process to help myself in making some kick-ass decisions…
I hope my little six step process for making great decisions proves to be helpful for you, too!

p.s. …Did you like it? Did the process come in handy?
Leave a comment and let me know what you think! 🙂

(p.p.s. Go easy on me! It’s my first video, and it’s more than two years old already… 😉 )

The Baby / Human Project: The Connection Between “You” & “you”

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Human Baby Project - Adult & Baby Rachelle

In the beginning of this year, I wrote a blog post called, “The Baby / Human Project: An Experimental Way To Look At Personal Development“. I won’t reiterate all the details, but in short, I theorized that taking the time to look at my newborn baby picture of myself every day for 30 days — while reflecting on the hopes and dreams I have for that baby/myself — may bring about some kind of transformational shift. …Or something like that.

Go ahead and (re)read the post if you like.

As mentioned in the comments of that post, I never completed the experiment of looking at my baby pic every day for 30 days in January. For the better half of January, I was traveling in Europe and busy being touristy, so I would often just forget — especially at the beginning of my trip where I was dealing with major jet lag.

Then later, in the following months, crazy circumstances led to a carry-on suitcase of my belongings being left behind in a Parisian train station while I was on board a plane flying back to North America. And yep — my baby picture was in that suitcase.

(For the record, I still don’t have that suitcase back in my possession. A kind girl I met in Paris has my suitcase under her wing and she is going to arrange for a friend involved with NATO to ship it back to me, but getting in touch with her to make arrangements on sending it has been sporadic at best. Hopefully I’ll be able to get my things back before the end of the year. My winter coat and boots are in there!)

In any case, I decided to reattempt my initial 30-day Baby / Human Project-Experiment during the month of September. Due to the lack of my physical baby photo on hand, I decided I would use a digital version of the same photo.  (i.e. The photo I had used in the aforementioned blog post.)

What were my results?

First off, I’d like to share that I didn’t lovingly gaze at my baby pic every single day of the 30 days. I’m pretty sure it was more than half of the 30 days, but I lost track of how many days I actually did it. But that’s okay, because shortly into the experiment, I came to realize a valuable lesson.

Earlier this summer, I sublet an apartment in downtown Toronto for a couple months. The person I was subletting from had left most of his furnishings and possessions in the apartment, including various books that I was welcome to read if I so desired. I noticed there were a few books by Esther Hicks amongst his collection, and being curious, I decided to read some of, “Ask and It Is Given“.

Esther Hicks makes a distinction between “You” (capitalized) and “you” (all lowercase). “You” refers to that part of you which existed before you were born, and still exists and is eternally connected to you; it’s essentially who you’ll continue to be after your physical body dies. In contrast, lowercase “you” refers to who you are — your identity and consciousness — while you exist as an incarnated physical being (in this case, human) in this physical plane of existence here on Earth.

I know it sounds full of so much “woo woo”-ness. Being someone who likes to think of herself as logical and rational, I’m not quick to blindly follow New Age spiritual thought. And yet, I often can’t help but wonder if there’s truth to to it, but in such a way that we simply don’t have the knowledge and associated vocabulary as of yet to explain such New Age spiritual concepts in a scientific manner. Believing in the possibility something yet simultaneously not necessarily believing in that same thing seems to fit the definition of paradox. Doesn’t it?

As one of my personal heroes Elizabeth Gilbert put it so aptly in regards to paradox and seemingly mutually contradicting ideas:

“I do believe that it is humanly possible for the human mind to hold two completely opposing ideas as true at the same time. And this is why, for instance, I am capable of being a completely rational, scientific, empirical person who believes in evolution and global warming, and reads The Science Times, and thinks it’s all fascinating; and at the same time, I can keep a place in my mind awake and alive to mystery, magic, and miracle. No problem. I do not see this as a contradiction. I have a big mind — you have a big mind. We can do both of those things at the same time.”

Gilbert sums up so beautifully my own thoughts on various matters regarding pseudo-science / New Age thought and spirituality. I, too, see myself as a very science-driven and logical person, yet at the same time, I can hold a space open to possibility — especially given that we as humans certainly aren’t privy to all the knowledge and the secrets of the universe. Without a doubt, there’s a lot we still don’t know.

I mention all this because it came to my realization that my Baby / Human Project Experiment was very much in alignment with this idea of “You” and “you”.  In fact, I’d say they’re quite analogous.

With my experiment, the “You” in question is who you are as an adult, looking at the picture of “you” as a baby. Both simultaneously exist as the same entity because they share the same source of consciousness. And yet, an adult is very different than a baby; these aspects of the same entity are separated by time, space, experience, wisdom, and knowledge. You could say that both subjects embody the same energy (or soul?) and consciousness/mind, but in different forms or states of kinetic vs potential.

In fusing Abraham and Esther Hicks’ description of “You” and “you” with that of my Baby / Human Project Experiment, I feel that I’ve come to experience and understand Love on a whole new level than I ever have before. It’s such a unique experience to take a step back from your humanity and beam love to yourself as though you’re looking at yourself from a higher perspective.

Human nature dictates a desire to love and be loved in return. This approach to self-love might very well fulfill both aspects this desire. I believe the potential for transformation through self-love is enormous — especially if one remembers to practice Love of Self on a consistent basis. <3

“I have an everyday religion that works for me.
Love yourself first, and everything else falls into line.
You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.”
~Lucille Ball