15 Things to Quit Today to Stop Making BAD Decisions

By Motivational Keynote Speaker and Human Behavior Expert Connie Podesta

Bad choices? Sure, we all make them. Hopefully as we get older (and sometimes wiser) though, we figure out that we can do better than that. If you’re ready to start making BETTER choices, let’s take a look at the top 15 things to quit starting today.

1. Quit avoiding reality. Too many people live in an “if only” or “I wish” fantasy world—and not in the reality of what is actually going on at this moment! Be honest with yourself. Making choices based on what you wish would happen or should happen or might happen is not a good foundation for decision-making. The results will never be what you need them to be to move ahead successfully. If you can’t realistically look at your life, then ask a good friend to be up front with you. The truth may hurt but you can’t make good choices without it.
2. Quit living in the past. I get it. Stuff has happened that hurt you. Angered you. Frustrated you. But also, made you who you are today. If you want to successfully move into the future, you must reconcile the negative memories in your past. Let go.  Reassess. Put aside. Because they will only set you up to accept and expect more negative. Making all your choices based on the way things used to be will keep you from creating a new future and determining for yourself what is yet to come.
3. Quit making excuses. Excuses totally take you away from what you need to face in order to be better. Make more. Be healthier. Create sustainable relationships. Excuses are detours away from reality. They put the blame elsewhere and take away your power to make good choices for yourself. Excuses keep you from being accountable for your own actions and the consequences that follow. Take charge and determine your own path and you will make better choices.
4. Quit putting yourself last. Sometimes making good choices means you have to put yourself first. Not in an egotistical, selfish way. But in a self-caring way. If your mindset is that you have to always please everyone and get everyone’s approval, then you will often make decisions that are not in your own best interest. There are lots of people who want your choices to be about THEM instead of about YOU. Be confident that you have the right to get your needs met and you will make better choices.
5. Quit settling for less. Settling comes from fear. I will take this job because I may not get a better offer. Date this person because I might not find anyone else. Settling is unsettling to the rest of your life. Step up and figure out what you want. What are your non-negotiables? What is important to you? And then go after it. Stop thinking that you can’t have what you want. That mindset will always prove to be true—if you think it then it will happen. Raise your standards and require more—of yourself and others. Then make choices that align with those beliefs.

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