Chapter 3 of Decide Your Future

Chapter 3 of Decide Your Future tells the importance of decision-making in actualizing your dreams; your future. It made it point-blank that one’s destiny lies in his or her decisions. This book was written to help people achieve their aims by making profitable decisions.

Each chapter of the book has a different impartation of knowledge for the readers.

Nothing should be more paramount to you than the decision you make. Don’t take decisions and the power behind them for granted, they can influence your future.

Our destinies are shaped at the points of our decisions.

Ngozi Okure

Decision shapes your future

Before you summon the courage to make a decision, get clearly the picture of what it would achieve for you. Imagine it the way you would want it to be. That would be a starting point for making success. Your mind would dwell on it constantly until you see the end product. Have it at the back of your mind that there are some risks to be taken and some benefits to enjoy for making any decision.

When you make the right decision, it can build you and when you make the wrong decision, it can destroy you. Decisions have the power to influence your future. A decision is a double-edged sword that can move front and back. Decisions can make or mar you. The only way to be on the safe side when making a decision is to make it in the right way.

Both the right and the wrong decisions have a dividend for those who make them. How you make yours determines what you would enjoy from it. No one should be forced into a decision; it is a choice you have to make on your own.

I wonder why those who commit crimes blame others for being the cause of their crimes. Taking part in corruption or injustice is a choice; it is done by choice and not by duress. It is a decision one has to make. It is a future that one has to decide.

A person can make a decision under duress but it does not occur often. In deciding your future, decisions under duress should not be counted. Stop pointing fingers at others when you do wrong. Would you also point fingers at them when you do right, as to accredit them for being responsible for your achievements?

Although, it’s possible, but it’s rare; only a few people can praise others for being the source of inspiration for their achievements.

What then is a decision? It simply means:

The conclusion of choice made on a particular issue, subject or judgement by an individual or group of individuals upon which an action or variety of actions are carried out.

Godspower Oparaugo

A decision is made for the actualization of goals. It is made to achieve goals through suitable follow-up actions. A goal could be anything, and it could be something good or evil, depending on your choice.

A decision entails the way people choose what to do immediately or in the future. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines decision as ‘a choice or judgement that you make after thinking and talking about what is the best thing to do.’

It could be established here using the above definition from Oxford that a decision is done after thinking and talking about what is the best thing to do.

Since a decision is done after thinking, it means that decision originates from the mind and becomes a reality through actions. Thinking is a product of the mind while a decision is a byproduct of thinking. That’s the reason why your mind should constantly be in a positive mood.

When you make a decision that leads to your success, you would enjoy the benefits more than the people around you. But when you make a decision that brings your downfall, the people around you would enjoy the benefits. Your downfall could cause a rise to others and vice versa. That is to say, any decision you make has the power to determine what happens around you. It has the power to determine your future.

Your talent attracts the blessings and grace of God to your life, that’s the reason why you must discover it. Your talent will lead you to your destiny. You don’t need magic to become great in life—all you need is to work on your talent. One of my lecturers in school used to tell us that education enhances talent while talent makes us great.

As the book of proverbs rightly states, wisdom can’t be ignored when making decisions. Those who ignore wisdom when making decisions always make wrong decisions. Wisdom is the only ingredient that flavours the diet of the mind. Know it today that:

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting, get understanding.

Proverbs 4:7

Don’t take decisions and the power behind them for granted, they can influence your future. The power behind the decision we make on daily basis has the capacity to make or mar us. It’s important not to underrate the power of any decision. Your decision can build or destroy you; it all depends on how you make it. Always make the right decision, for your destiny lies in your decision.

The future is unpredictable. When you make the right decision, you stand the chance of being privileged to predict your future. Bear in mind that, each time you make a decision, you add something new to your future! Decisions can lead to success and can also lead to failure! It all depends on the kind of decision we make.

Failure is an achievement just like success. We should be proactive whenever we consider both so that we would know the best decision to make.

Nowadays, most people prefer spending quality time making decisions on irrelevant things and give less concern and little time to relevant ones. I’ve seen this, and I know that you must have seen it too, most people suffer severally because they value irrelevant things more than the relevant ones. Consider this brief statement:

I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing because I have too many other decisions to make.

Barack Obama

The statement of Barack Obama above illuminated my mind with a deep meaning the moment I came across it. I interpreted it by asking myself this question: “President Obama can even eat any food without placing orders on the kind of food he wants as making a decision about what he eats is not important to him?”

One can only make such a statement whenever he understands that he must give less concern to irrelevant things. There are things that matter most in life, find them and go after them if you want to achieve your goal in life. That’s what great men and women do. That’s a pretty step for deciding our future wisely.

Don’t make decisions with evil motives, it’s harmful, and if not now, it will be in the future. You must be careful. Also bear in mind that there are disastrous effects of a wrong decision. A decision is like a naked wire of electricity; it gives light to mankind and supports the standard of living and simultaneously, shocks anyone who touches it.

In that case, you don’t have any other option when making decisions other than to make them in the right way. Make efforts to avoid making careless decisions. This book sensitizes the reader about the adverse effects of a wrong decision.

Your destiny lies in your decisions

I’m of the opinion that one’s destiny lies in his hand; in his decisions. As you read down, you will understand it more. You should do everything possible to discover your purpose of existence and stop dreaming to be like someone else.

You will value yourself more whenever you discover your purpose of existence. Whenever you discover that there is great potential in you to explore your world.

Most bloggers aspire to be like Linda Ikeji and because of that, they miss their initial aim and become copycats. They can’t imitate Linda correctly and wouldn’t earn as much as she has earned through blogging. There might be thousands of bloggers who mind their lanes and still make it.

Those who cluster their blog with nonessential advertisements in the quest for money don’t still make money as they had desired. First, focus on creating valuable content and you will make money through it. I’m not writing to be like any other author. I’m writing to be myself.

The number of followers or readership your blog attracts determines how much you can make when you monetize it. To achieve greatness, you must know that you’ve some vital roles to play. Success does not come by mistake; you must work for it. If it comes by mistakes, most of us would become billionaires because most of us are in the habit of making a multitude of mistakes daily.

Quality time is required to discover who you are and what you can do with your talent. Always be ready to pursue your dream, that’s what successful people do. You should equally know that the great God has made you great right from your conception and also made you a possessor of his image, his nature, and his likeness. A fellow writer wrote:

Inside everyone’s life, there is a degree of greatness which indicates that the great God dropped his native image and likeness of power within us expecting that we will develop ourselves and fulfill the purpose of creation.

Iroezi Godwin E

Therefore, we shouldn’t leave this earth as poor people for the God who we share His image, nature, and likeness is not a poor God. God has given us the free will to make decisions, how we use it determines what we get out of it. Your destiny is determined by your decision.

God has made us powerful in order to achieve greatness in limitless measures. Your achievement is the end product of your thoughts. So, think positively, decide positively and achieve limitless greatness.

Whatsoever your mind dwells on, determines your actions and your actions determine what happens around you. Your actions are the result of your decision. In the pursuit of your destiny, your decision matters a lot. It could not be argued that, if fate would make you great in life, it would first and foremost make you face difficulties but, that shouldn’t limit you from making the right decisions.

Only you and your creator have the power to control your destiny. God is the architect of your destiny; He designed and drew your destiny to His glory and for your benefit. After drawing it, He handed it over to you, expecting you to fulfill it. What we do with the master plan of our destinies handed over to us by God, determines our success or our failure in life.

Apart from you and your creator, no other being has the power to control your destiny. You have to change your mentality toward the way you view life. Each and every one of us is in charge of his or her destiny. You have to be aware that your destiny lies in your hand; in your decision.

The story of two Tarmars in the Bible as narrated by a fellow shades more light on my opinion that one’s destiny is in his hands. Decide your future by making the right decision.

The tale of two Tamars in the bible: Both were hit by adversity. One went home and remained desolate and despondent in her brother’s house. The other put off her widowhood garment and went ahead to become great. Our destinies are shaped at the points of our decisions.

Ngozi Okure

Most problems we face on daily basis do not mean that God has refused to bless us; it is because we are, in most cases weak and unable to make the right and profitable decision in line with our God-given talents and opportunities. We are so much concerned about how to imitate other people; people that had already actualized their own dreams by making proper use of their time, money, and energy.

Our inability to make the right decision when needed could be that we allow feelings of fear to overpower ‘willpower.’ As we bear different names, different faces, different body structures, and different colours, so do our destinies differ. When you imitate me, you underrate your own talent and your destiny would be misdirected.

Don’t imitate anyone, be yourself. Be what God has made you for. God has placed man above all creations which means, the future of man is limitless and his powers are immensely raw! God has created you special and when you imitate, you become inferior to the person you imitate. You can do new things, in fact, everything. St. Paul says:

I can do everything through him (Christ) who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:13

Plan your future

It is always profitable to have a plan before we do anything. It will help us know what we want most in life. When your plans are accurate on how to achieve your destiny, God will permit you to fulfill them. God’s permission for your plans, desires, and wishes is done only when they are in accordance with His will. As you’re inspired to make a decision, don’t forget to treasure this wise counsel:

To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the mouth.

Proverbs 16:1 (NIV)

Any decision you make in pursuit of your dream determines how far you can go in life. In fact, it determines your destiny. Let’s consider what brought the fall of Saul the King of Israel. The story of King Saul is very popular; I was told of it when I was a kid. Saul made a wrong and foolish decision; he failed to carry out the divine instruction that God gave him.

Saul was told to destroy the Amalekites without mercy; he didn’t but made a decision against God’s instruction. He disobeyed God and went ahead sparing the life of king Agag, he also preserved the best livestock of the Amalekites for himself whereas; he was ordered to destroy everything that breathes in Amalekites. His destiny was in his hand, and he toyed with it.

This made God reject him as king of Israel. Saul’s destiny was ruined by his own decision, that’s how he decided his own future. He couldn’t decide his future wisely. You can read 1 Samuel 15:1-35 to understand it more.

Your destiny is not in the decision of your enemies, friends, or your employer. It’s in your own decision. To study hard before the exams is a choice. Those students who fail to study hard have already made the decision to fail. Nature cannot permit you to eat from where you did not labour, even if you try to maneuver it, you will still fail someday.

You can never be satisfied in life if you misplace your destiny with something else. Examine yourself and what you do to know if it can lead you to your destiny. A healthy decision guarantees a healthy destiny. An unhealthy decision is like poison to your destiny.

Life is ever ready to teach us everything we need to know through the good and bad experiences we encounter at every moment of our lives. The problem is we are not learning as we ought to. Learn from the story of King Saul. Learn how to plan and decide your future.