THE MAJOR DECISIONS IN LIFE
BE VERY, VERY, VERY SURE OF THE RIGHT DECISION
WILL IT SOMEHOW WORK OUT?
We go about life as if "somehow it'll work out" or "I don't need to think about life, it'll just happen". Both of those statements are incredibly "unsmart" hogwash. Read And Then A Miracle Happens - Wanna Bet?
It's true that we do recover much better than we think from what we might think will be terrible. Humans have a natural (evolved) ability to adjust, much more than they think. We soon adjust to a "new normal" range and base our happiness around that.
Indeed, a new paraplegic adjusts back to his pre-paraplegic happiness level within a year.
We adjust to the "end of the world" relationship breakups, with alot of them disappearing into the background to the point where we wonder what the big deal was.
Even though some things do pass, they still will influence the direction of your life in terms of the level of aliveness that people allow to diminish, needlessly and inappropriately. But the path you start on should be adjusted as quickly as possible, as that will be the way you go. "Where you're headed you may end up. D'ya really wanna be there!?!"
THE MAJOR LIFE DECISIONS ARE...
Learning about life - Developing life wisdom, knowledge, and life skills is the precursor to being more life competent and making the right life decisions. This seems obvious when it is said, but many Westerners ignore that and go into a "I'll just learn life as I go" mode - then they languish into a version of Pokeyman, settling for far less than life can give them. In case it isn't obvious, this is actually the most important decision to make of any decision in life, as it makes a huge difference in all the decisions and actions in the rest of your life. See Effective Learning - To Create The Life You Love.
There are many aspects to "learning about life" - and all of them are important. Your insight into thoughts and emotions can turn your life around. And learning about relationships can make a huge difference. Your self-concept...and on and on. Learning about how to free up huge blocks of your time for higher level payoff is beyond beyond, in terms of value, as it can greatly alter all other aspects of your life. Link to the key life productivity book that is quick and to the point, listed in Books And Booklets. See The Essential Life Skills, Without Which There Is Little Personal Power Or Happiness.
Your career/job/vocation - Mismatching to one's aptitudes and values can lead to lifelong unhappiness. Not developing one's skills enough to be able to earn sufficient or more money will affect the quality of life substantially - and your happiness. We must, in our jobs and in our lives have a Sense Of Efficacy, or our happiness is greatly harmed. See Choosing The Right Career, Business - Measure Twice, Cut Once - Good advice for other important decisions, too.
Deciding level of education and the majors - The expanding globalization makes uneducated labor of low value in economic terms, and that can cause alot of financial problems and unhappiness.
Having children, and, if you do, deciding to be a knowledgeable parent. Couples with children are not as happy as other couples while the children are at home, though the reward afterward may make up for, but not always. Learning how to be a good parent, since it will be a major user of your time, is so incredibly important but few do it sufficiently, often just learning as they go, a tidbit here and a tidpit and tip there - but being terribly naive about it. See Parenting - A Vital Skill That Few Really Have But What A Difference Can Be Made!.
Your health habits and your criteria - You experience life much better, think much better, and make much wiser decisions if you are healthy. And your whole life will be truly alive if you have good energy, not dragging from day to day or staying up too late or recovering from parties and bouts as a couch potato. See Highest Payoff Areas For Your Attention - The Wisest Investment Of Your Time. And it has a huge effect on one's psychology and assessment of their life experience!
THE CHECKLIST - HOW AM I DOING?
Use this checklist to objectively evaluate whether you've learned enough, whether you will choose to learn enough, and how you are doing right now. Rate the "Learned" column on a 1 to 10, 10 being highest. Decide if that is enough to do well in life and then commit to learning it by putting an x under "Will" (I commit to learning this until sufficient knowing to be effective enough.). And the final one is your "grade" in how you are doing in the area or item.
Learned Will Grade
Learning about life
Perfecting the repeated life effectors
Selection of career, etc.
Selection of long term intimate partner
Having children and being a parent
Selection of your friends, their quality
Your health and your habits and practices
WHAT'S NEXT?
You would prioritize and set up the order for what you will learn in each area, using the contents/links in an area or by following one of the Learning/Implementation Programs.
