Decide with Confidence!

           Every day we are faced with at least a few decisions. According to studies the average human makes about 612 decisions in a single day. This adds up to 4284 decisions a week and 223,380 decisions a year. I'm awake for somewhere around 16 hours every day. Assuming I make the same amount of decisions in a day as the average person and those decisions are equally spread out over time then I am making a decision once every minute and 34 seconds. That seems quite frequent to me.

            I don't like to think of myself as "average" and I hope you don't think of yourself as "average" either. Everyone is a unique individual with knowledge and talents specific to them and them only. I have noticed many people don't seem confident in who they are. This worries me. Every decision you make defines who you are so make them with some confidence! Be proud of yourself and your uniqueness. If you do something that seems weird to the "average" person but it makes you happy then why should you hide it? Next time you make a decision make it with some confidence and be happy with yourself for doing so.

            Yes I know being "different" can be scary. Very few people want to be the one who sticks out in a crowd. However is it not a leaders responsibility to stick out? A leader cannot simply blend in with a crowd or they will not be noticed and will therefore have a difficult time leading.

            Here's the kicker though. I find oftentimes the first follower is the greatest leader of all. Without that first follower the leader is accomplishing nothing. The first person to follow sets the tone that what the leader is doing is acceptable. Every additional follower just ratifies this until the amazing moment when the act being done by the leader is completely acceptable.

            While this may all sound a little crazy take travel into space for example. Originally the people that tried were considered downright crazy. Many people thought that strapping some rockets to a chair would do the trick. Honestly as a little kid I probably wondered why that wouldn't work. Nevertheless the idea of travel into space was not abandoned. Eventually the space race ensued and later people even have had the opportunity to walk on the moon. Now there is even a private program that will send individuals to Mars on a one way trip starting in 2025. The entire plan is to start colonizing it. All it takes to be considered is an application (with some qualifications) and a small fee. By September last year 2782 people had sent in their application.

            At this point in time you will not be seeing me send in an application but by the time I have gone through the work force and then retired who knows. There might be an awesome retirement center on Mars. By that time it might even be commonplace to consider leaving Earth.

            Basically the whole idea is that being confident in an idea or decision can make great things happen. At the time you may seem crazy or out of place, but as more people agree and follow the idea becomes more acceptable and maybe even common. I challenge you to make decisions with confidence! You never know what it may mean down the road to yourself and others. I can personally guarantee that at least 598 of the decisions I make today I will make confidently and if I see someone trying something different I won't judge them. Their actions today may be the normal of tomorrow. Now excuse me as I go start building a time machine...