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The Best Decision I Ever Made

A life is made of a million decisions, forks in the road that require a choice: Do I want to be a lawyer or a film producer? Should I travel across the world to attend college? Do I need to stop drinking martinis? Should I take the lucrative job offer if it means spending less time with my family?

Related:  Stop Overthinking It: 9 Ways to Make Decisions With Confidence

Sometimes we know the answers intuitively and quickly decide. Other times we debate endlessly, agonizing our way toward an answer. At pivotal points in life, the number of decisions can be overwhelming .

Robert Frost suggested that the best path was the less predictable one.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

That was true for some of the achievers we talked to—that taking risks led to fantastic success . But others said well-worn paths work, too. That’s why choosing can be so difficult. Here are what some decision-makers described as their best choices, how they were made, and how those decisions helped lead them toward success and happiness.

Blake Shelton

Country music star and The Voice judge

The best decision I ever made was two weeks out of high school I moved to Nashville to pursue my dream of being a country singer. I think if I hadn’t made that decision at such a young age I might have been afraid to do it later on in life.

James Patterson

Best-selling author who is releasing his latest book, Filthy Rich , in October

I’d like to think I’ve occasionally made good decisions in my life (first among them marrying my wife, Sue)—but professionally, I’d say that leaving my post as North American CEO of J. Walter Thompson.

At the time I left, I was being considered as a candidate for worldwide CEO, and it’s scary to contemplate a second career when you’re doing that well. But I knew I never truly had a passion for advertising. As a business, I’d always found it more difficult than it had to be—it’s surprisingly hard to sell clients blueprints that communicate what a television campaign is going to look like before it’s filmed. And every client you deal with is very different than the last.

Leaving JWT was a decision that I’ve never regretted, but it wasn’t easy. You never know what’s going to happen. All I knew at the time was that I loved writing and that I wanted to do more of it. So I kept writing and haven’t stopped since. I’ve never been happier. And I’ve never been more successful.

Author, financial adviser and motivational speaker

Fifteen years ago I decided that I didn’t want to live a lie anymore. I wanted to stand in my truth. I didn’t want people in my life who did not support me—emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. I only wanted people in my life who were positive influences on others and me.

So at the age of 50, I decided to make a clean sweep. I took a hard look at my friends, my employees and a relationship I’d been in for eight years. In just one week, I ended a lot of relationships, cutting off some friendships I’d had for a good 15 years.

And I have to tell you, it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Because the true key to success, believe it or not, is to keep good company. You might have a great idea, one that is great for you, but others will try to sabotage you.

When you stand in the truth of who you are, on all levels, then you become the most powerful person that you can be. The world is attracted to truth. The world is repelled by lies. When people can feel something isn’t right, they’re repelled from you, from your product, from your idea, from hiring you, from being around you. When you speak the truth—and act in the truth—everybody is attracted to you.

Alana Jane Nichols

Three-time gold medalist in the Paralympic Games

I went to college at the University of New Mexico. To everyone there, I was a disabled girl in a wheelchair. I got really depressed. I started thinking about suicide. I just didn’t want to live the rest of my life in that chair. It was unbearable.

Then I rolled into the university gym one Wednesday afternoon. That’s when I saw a whole team of people playing basketball in wheelchairs. They were violent and loud and hitting each other. They’d fall over in their wheelchairs; then just get back up. It was wild and ridiculous.

At some point they noticed me, and they stopped playing. They asked me my name. They asked me if I wanted to play. I had always been a rough-and-tumble girl, but since my accident, everyone had treated me like I was fragile.

That day I rolled myself onto the court, and I decided to keep playing.

Author and entrepreneur

The best decision I ever made was the decision to start making decisions. To respond and initiate, not merely to react or take what’s on offer. Mostly, the commitment to pick myself, to pursue a path that mattered to me and the people I work with. We have way more freedom than we realize , but it begins with deciding.

Soledad O’Brien

Award-winning broadcast journalist and CEO of Starfish Media Group

I knew I wanted to have a substantial career . I also knew I wanted to get married and have kids. Lots of kids.

Because I was very strategic about it, it helped me make decisions all along the way. I had it mapped out, the things that were all important to me—career, husband, children. Now I’ve been married for more than 20 years, I have four children, and I love my work.

I like to give this advice to young women: Be as intentional about planning your family life as you are about planning your career. That’s what worked for me.

Alan Parsons

Songwriter, musician and record producer

Who would turn down working with Pink Floyd in their heyday? I did.

Recording Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon was not a very lucrative activity. I was a staff engineer at Abbey Road Studios on a fixed salary of 35 pounds a week. Following the album’s success, I turned down a substantial full-time job offer from the band to work as their recording and live sound engineer.

I was fortunate enough to soon enjoy immediate chart success as an independent music producer with a number of British and American artists. I had the creative freedom to produce artists of my own choice, and to continue with the formation of The Alan Parsons Project, which in retrospect might not have happened if I had accepted that job.

Joel Osteen

Senior Pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston and author of Think Better, Live Better , released in October

My best decision, after marrying my wife, Victoria, of course, was the decision to take over as the senior pastor at Lakewood Church.

After my father went to be with the Lord, I felt a deep desire to step up and serve as pastor of Lakewood Church. Having preached only once in my life—a week before my father died—that desire was soon bombarded by a variety of negative thoughts. Today when I see the opportunities to make a difference in the lives of so many people, I am truly grateful for God’s grace and the strength to have made that decision years ago.

Mike Rawlings

Mayor of Dallas

I’ve made a lot of decisions—I’m old—but I think the seminal one for me was deciding to stay in Dallas. I came to Dallas in 1976 after graduating from Boston College. I didn’t like Dallas very much. I thought I’d stay here for a few years, then move back East. But I went through a divorce in my first marriage and my daughter was here. I really wanted to be near her. So I decided to stay in Dallas. And I think that made me accomplish what I think is the most important job a person has, if you’re lucky enough to have kids: to be a good parent.

I think how you go about decision-making is important. A lot of decisions I face, I don’t immediately know what the right answers are. If I’ve got the time, I let those decisions come to me. You need to feel decisions as well as think them; they have to make sense both intellectually and emotionally. Then once you know what the answer is, you move quickly.

Diane Warren

Legendary eight-time Oscar nominee and Grammy-winning songwriter

The best decision I’ve ever made is to follow my own vision. I’ve never been someone to go around asking, “What do you think? What do you think?” I’ve always let my passion lead me. I’ve tried to just keep my blinders on and go for what I believe in. I know when something is great. When I know this, nothing stops me.

Paul Levine

President of Trulia

By far the best decision I ever made was to move from the East Coast to Silicon Valley 20 years ago. I grew up in the New York suburbs, and I was fascinated with technology. I realized that all of the companies I wanted to work for were located within 10 miles of each other in Silicon Valley. I wanted to be in the center of the action.

I’d advise people to think about where they live, based on what they want to do. If you want to work in automotive, you might want to move to Detroit. If you’re interested in entertaining, you probably want to be in Los Angeles.

Get to where the action is.

Arianna Huffington

Co-founder of The Huffington Post and author of The Sleep Revolution

The best decision I ever made was committing to getting eight hours of sleep a night. For many years I subscribed to a very flawed definition of success, buying into our collective delusion that burnout is the necessary price we must pay for success. Then in 2007, I had a painful wakeup call: I fainted from sleep-deprivation and exhaustion, hit my head on my desk, and broke my cheekbone. From that point on, I knew I had to make sleep a priority .

Now, 95 percent of the time I get eight hours of sleep a night. Once I started giving sleep the respect it deserves, my life improved in pretty much every way. Now, instead of waking up to the sense that I have to trudge through activities, I wake up feeling joyful about the day’s possibilities. I’m also better able to recognize red flags and rebound from setbacks. It’s like being dialed into a different channel that has less static.

TV legend and winner of seven Emmy awards

The best decision I ever made was taking the job on The Mary Tyler Moore Show . It was as fine a decision as I ever made. I was branching out into an area of comedy that I hadn’t perfected yet, so there was a lot to master. Taking that role changed my life.

One thing that comedy did for me as an actor is that, no matter how gripping a role may be, it’s not real unless you can incorporate comedy into it. It always makes a role more believable. That role helped me learn so many things I needed to know.

Mehmet Oz, m.d.,

Surgeon, author and television personality

After 31 years, I can say without question that the best decision that I ever made was marrying my wife, Lisa. I found a worthy opponent and wisely put a ring on

her. She had bigger aspirations for me than were on my vision board and mastered the art of telling me what I need to hear rather than what I want to hear. She fills in the many areas where I am weak and turbocharges my strengths. In failure, she steadies my foundation. In success, she maintains a balanced perspective.

Mandy Ginsberg

CEO for Match group North America

The night before my mother died of ovarian cancer, she did a blood test, and we discovered she had the BRCA1 mutation. With this mutation, you have a roughly 90 percent chance of having breast cancer—which my mom had in her 30s—and you have a up to 70 percent chance of having ovarian cancer.

I got tested, and I tested positive for the defect. Then I had a choice to make. Unlike the genetic tests for Alzheimer’s—for which there’s not much you can do—you can take preventive measures for this. So in my 40s, I had a preventative double mastectomy, and then a couple of years later I had a hysterectomy and oophorectomy.

In some ways, it wasn’t even a decision—I watched my mother die. With my genetics, I felt as if a bomb were going to go off at any minute. It has given me a great sense of relief, the feeling that I will have a longer runway in front of me, more time to spend with my own two daughters, more time to do the work that I love .

Lynn Whitfield

Actress and producer

When I was younger, several people forced me to think seriously about planning for retirement. So I did that, kicking and screaming. But now that I’m older, I’m grateful. That has allowed me to explore my art, without worrying about whether I work next week. It’s given me a great deal of security and freedom.

Another big decision is that three or four years ago I re-evaluated my priorities, took another look at what it takes for me to be comfortable. I started downsizing and that has made such a huge difference. I have no interest in keeping up with the Joneses or anyone else. I chose to simplify and pare down, do what I want to do, be where I want to be.

I have so many friends who are very well off and they are still having conversations about not being fulfilled. They’re wondering, What is the meaning of my life? I don’t feel that way, because I feel as if I’m living my purpose .

Dave Coulier

Stand-up comedian and actor in the Netflix series, Fuller House , and author of The Adventures of Jimmy Burger 

I grew up in Detroit, and everyone there worked in the automotive industry. You pretty much decided between the big three: Chrysler, General Motors or Ford. But I was interested in entertainment and stand-up comedy and doing silly voices for a living.

So I moved to Los Angeles and threw myself into the unknown fire. I also decided to forgo college, and everyone thought I was crazy. But I thought, No one in college is going to teach me how to do funny cartoon voices or how to be a comedy writer.

Back then, at 19 years old, I was too inexperienced and naive to know the odds—they weren’t good. But it ended up being the best decision I ever made because it completely shaped and changed my world.

Ian Ziering

Actor in Beverly Hills 90210 and Sharknado , and entrepreneur

I’ve always looked at the celebrity I’ve earned as capital.  I believe spending that capital doing good things for other people is the best way to spend it.  When I was asked to participate in The Celebrity Apprentice , I felt lucky and honored to have the chance to raise money and awareness of a horrible disease called epidermolysis bullosa. With that goal in mind, I came to the show with a no-lose mentality , and it was the best decision I ever made.

Though Leeza Gibbons ultimately won the title and $320,000 for EBKids.org, getting to mention EB on every prime time show produced that season was all I needed to feel like a winner.

Katie Kellett

Director of imprints at Arcadia Publishing

At 40 years old I made a decision to run . It wasn’t a well-thought-out decision; it was a spur of the moment choice on a miserably hot summer day in Charleston, South Carolina. 

I am the most unlikely of runners: I have never been an athlete, I smoked for the better part of two decades, and I was one of those people who always quipped, “I only run if someone is chasing me with a knife.”

But in the months that preceded that hot summer day, I had quit smoking and I’d begun to exercise. I was going through a divorce and looking for positive outlets to channel my anger and anxiety, wishing especially not to channel them toward my 5-year-old daughter. 

So I laced up my shoes, walked out the door and started to run. That first run was brutal and, truth be told, almost every one of them has been brutal since that day.

And although I haven’t exactly hated shopping for smaller clothes, the real reward has been something much deeper. Running has opened up ideas of possibility for me; I see myself in a different light.

Sarah Hepola

Author of the New York Times best-seller, Blackout

I quit drinking at the age of 35. I did not want to do it. I’d loved alcohol since I was a girl. It had been my rebellion, my path to adventure, my identity, my life companion and, eventually, my undoing. What happens when you rely on booze to fix you is that you don’t learn to soothe yourself. I’ve heard other problem drinkers say if they hadn’t quit, they probably would have died. I never thought that. But I did think, If I don’t quit, I’m never going to live.

My world had become so small by the end. Addiction is life on a very short leash. I was unhappy—no, miserable—for the first year of sobriety. I felt bitter and robbed, but with time I began to see how much I had been drinking away: my gifts, my clarity, this present moment. Sobriety was a chance to start my life over and discover all the joys in my own body that I had been drinking in order to find: confidence, creative inspiration, pleasure.

I am 41 now, a beginner in many ways, and I think of quitting drinking as the beginning of my adulthood—the moment I decided to take full responsibility for my life and, in doing so, finally made it great.

Mark Victor Hansen

Motivational speaker and co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul

The best decision that I ever made after my painful divorce was to keep my heart open to the idea that I could still find my true love in this lifetime. I started by writing a list of 267 ideals that I desired in a marriage and marital partner, if I were ever to marry again. I wanted someone who could share my values, spiritual beliefs, ambition, desire, drive, hopes, and big goals for the future. I wrote that we needed to have absolute love for each other and a mutual affinity for projects we undertook. I believe that clarity of thinking and spiritual alignment with God creates the space for dreams and goals to manifest. Once created, then you need to be awake and aware when the answered prayers show up on your path.

My answer presented at an Author 101 conference. From the stage, I saw in the audience a vision of loveliness, charisma, style, and perfection in motion. I asked and discovered the woman I couldn’t take my eyes off was divorced. Fortuitously, in the evening VIP reception where I was surrounded by people who were barraging me with questions. I noticed from across the room, someone suddenly spilled red wine on this glorious woman’s white slacks. Opportunity presented itself. I responded. I broke from my group of fans and rushed to her rescue. I promised that I knew the secret doorway to the kitchen and the Club Soda to save her stained slacks. I took her hand and rushed us out of the questioning throngs, and once the club soda was procured, I was able to chat a little bit with her to find out more about her. We had instant camaraderie and after a few minutes of chatting, I knew there was something very special about this woman, and our encounter. Even her name, Crystal, seemed like the perfect fit.

I gently invited Crystal to dine at a nice restaurant in the in Hollywood neighborhood, and she admitted she was starving, as was I. When we arrived at the restaurant, the line to get in was long and a hundred dollar bill would not gain entry, I felt assured. I approached the maître d’ smiling. He looked at her, saw her radiant undeniable glow and said to me: “Who is she?” I jokingly said: “She is the Queen of Denmark.” He said, “No way, really?” Oh my gosh, she is! And who are you?” I know as a lifelong sales trainer to answer a question with a question and said playfully, “Who travels with the Queen?” “Oh my, you’re the King! Wait right here one second and we’ll get you the perfect table.”  I glanced at Crystal who had a huge smile on her face. She whispered, “I think it’s too late to too tell him you were kidding.” After a couple of hours of extraordinary conversation and a lovely dinner, it felt like we had known each other forever.

Throughout our courtship, I would have to pinch myself because it really seemed as though my dreams had truly been fulfilled. I asked her repeatedly to marry me because she always said “Yes!” and I never got tired of hearing that answer!

Eight years later we are happily married, beyond what either of us ever imagined could have happened. It is said there is a level beyond Soul Mates, called Twin Flames in which when two people come together, like flames from two candles when they’re joined, they rise together as one flame to exponentially higher levels. Crystal is my Twin Flame and I am hers.

After almost giving up on love after my bitter divorce, the decision I made to find the courage to continue to believe in my dreams and goals, and in the divine power that orchestrates them into reality is the best decision I have ever or will ever make.

Dr. Travis Stork

ER physician, best-selling author and host of the Emmy Award-winning series, The Doctors

I never intended to be a doctor and took a consulting job after I graduated as a math and economics major from Duke. I began volunteering at a free health clinic and it was there that I found my true calling. The best decision I ever made was to take a leap of faith and go back to medical school. I took the prerequisite classes needed at night while continuing to work. I still remember, like it was yesterday, shedding tears of joy as I sat on my front porch reading my medical school acceptance letter. My career in medicine has given my life purpose and helping people live the healthiest life possible has become my true passion. 

Related:  A Guide for Making Tough Decisions

This article originally appeared in the November 2016 issue of SUCCESS magazine .

Jamie Thompson

Jamie Thompson is a freelance writer based in Dallas.

5473 Blair Road, Suite 100 PMB 30053 Dallas, TX 75231

Copyright © 2024 SUCCESS Magazine. All rights reserved.

• Relationships

What’s the Best Decision You Ever Made?

Your answer will likely depend on how old you currently are..

Posted July 23, 2018

Wherever you are in your life today, when you think about what is important to your current happiness , what are the things that pop up at the top of the list? Developmentally, we tend to break our travels through adulthood into 5 discrete segments:

• Emerging Adulthood – when we begin trying to figure out who we are and where we are headed in life.
• Young Adulthood – that period when we are old enough to know how little we actually do know about life and still too young to fully recognize and handle all of the responsibilities that come with adulthood. We know that we need a job, stability, and to begin thinking about how we’re going to get there.
• Adulthood – these are those years when we begin to actually “look like” the adult in the room. Ideally, we have found a way to make a steady living, we have created the type of family that we believe we want, and we have begun to care more about being a part of the community and are likely worrying about raising children in a world that seems to be spinning out of control in ways that we might have once thought were “kinda’ cool,” but now perceive as “kinda’ scary.”
• Middle Adulthood – this is what most of us still probably think of as “the parents’ generation,” even if we’ve hit the “Big 4-0,” ourselves. Midlife is the “next act” to old age’s “third act.” This is when we begin to recognize that our lives really are going to be a finite product of our choices and behaviors over the years. In midlife, you realize that there may not be a “do over,” but that doesn’t mean that you are “done.”
• Older Adulthood – some consider these the “golden years,” or “the prime of life,” or use some other euphemism for the years from the late 60s to the end of life, but if we’re facing poverty, unaffordable medical needs, or food insecurity, these are as far from “golden” as anything could be. This is the time when older adults will take stock of their lives and, whether they consciously do it or not, assess their lifetime of choices and decisions to see if the outcome was what they expected or felt they deserved.

When is a Woman Happy She’s Made Up Her Mind?

In a recent research study, over 400 adult women were asked to share what they consider had been the “best decision” of their lives. The responses were reviewed and coded and it turns out that the “Big Decisions” of adulthood can pretty much be divided into 10 categories -- and here they are in order of frequency:

• Self-Development
• Pursuing an Education
• Motherhood (Choosing to become one or choosing not to)
• Career Development or Changes
• Beginning Romantic Relationship
• Ending Romantic Relationships
• Spiritual Development
• Geographical Relocation
• Family Relationships
• Social - Friendships

The percentage of women whose best decisions landed within a specific area varied across the lifespan. And not necessarily in ways that we might expect. This gives us insight into perhaps what we value in life and reflects what matters most as we age.

Finding Yourself is Still a Sought After Goal

For women up through their forties, decisions related to self-development were the most frequently noted. A third of the women in their twenties focused on this area; 26% of those in their 30s; and 17% of those in their 40s. Decisions made included such things as gaining stronger confidence , deciding to be less passive, refusing to let others make their choices for them, and so on. Education decisions were the most frequently mentioned decision for women in their 50s (18%) and their 60s (21%). These women were on the leading edge of women gaining more open access to higher education and the women’s rights movement was a part of their early cultural landscape. A greater percentage of women in this age group divorced without the same social stigma as the prior generation and also received cultural support for making career and lifestyle choices that were no longer dictated by their gender roles. It makes sense that education stands out as the key decision that helped them work towards their greatest potential.

Who’s Most Grateful they Broke Off a Relationship?

For women in their 70s, the number one decision determined as the “best decision” made by the largest number (33%) was Ending a Romantic Relationship. What this suggests is that for women in that age cohort, there was probably more opposition to ending marriages than there was in younger generations. It makes sense that a difficult and highly significant life choice would continue to hold – or even gain – value over time.

Motherhood: To Be or Not to Be a Mother?

Another pattern that emerged was the appearance of motherhood in the top of the lists for women in their 30s through the 60s. The majority of women noted that having children was their best decision, while a handful described their decision to NOT begin a family as their best decision. This is not a surprising finding, of course. However, it is might be interesting to know that the age groups most likely to count career choices as their best decision were those in their 30s, 40s, and those in their 60s. This might reflect a woman’s need to build a strong financial foundation in her most active career years and then to recognize in the 60s that good past financial choices make a significant different as older adulthood and finite economic resources become realities.

Is 50 the new 30?

Regarding significant romantic relationships, we might expect the beginning of relationships to show up at the top of the younger age cohorts, but it was halfway down the list for women in the forties and younger. Among the women in their 50s, it tied for the #2 most frequently noted decision along with motherhood and self-development. Overall, women in their 50s presented the greatest variety in the list of the top decisions made – and perhaps the old saying that “50 is the new 30” is true when it comes to diversity among individuals.

How to Make the Best Decision of your Life

Regardless of where you are in your life, you are going to be facing many opportunities to make decisions that may matter more later than they do at the moment. And know that any decision you make is going to be the “best” that you can at any given moment. To help you feel more in charge of your decision-making , here are some basic suggestions to guide you:

• Clearly assess exactly what your options are at the moment
• Determine if there really is a choice
• List the “pros and cons” of the options that you are most likely to take
• Make the choice that makes the most sense at that moment
• Accept that you have made the best decision that you possibly could at this time

Suzanne Degges-White, Ph.D. , is a licensed counselor and professor at Northern Illinois University.

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I asked hundreds of people about their biggest life decisions. Here’s what I learned

Senior Lecturer in Marketing, University of Technology Sydney

Disclosure statement

Adrian R. Camilleri does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

University of Technology Sydney provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation AU.

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You make decisions all the time. Most are small. However, some are really big : they have ramifications for years or even decades. In your final moments, you might well think back on these decisions — and some you may regret.

Part of what makes big decisions so significant is how rare they are. You don’t get an opportunity to learn from your mistakes. If you want to make big decisions you won’t regret, it’s important you learn from others who have been there before.

There is a good deal of existing research into what people regret in their lives. In my current project, I decided to approach the problem from the other end and ask people about their life’s biggest decisions.

What are life’s biggest decisions?

I have spent most of my career studying what you might call small decisions: what product to buy , which portfolio to invest in , and who to hire . But none of this research was very helpful when, a few years ago, I found myself having to make some big life decisions.

To better understand what life’s biggest decisions are, I recruited 657 Americans aged between 20 and 80 years old to tell me about the ten biggest decisions in their lives so far.

Each decision was classified into one of nine categories and 58 subcategories. At the end of the survey, respondents ranked the ten decisions from biggest to smallest. You can take the survey yourself here . (If you do, your answers may help develop my research further.)

The following chart shows each of the 58 decision subcategories in terms of how often it was mentioned (along the horizontal axis) and how big the decision was considered in retrospect (along the vertical axis).

In the upper right of the chart we see decisions that are both very significant and very common. Getting married and having a child stand out clearly here.

Other fairly common big life decisions include starting a new job and pursuing a degree. Less common, but among the highest ranked life decisions, include ending a life – such as that of an unborn child or a dying parent – and engaging in self-harm.

Of course, the results depend on who you ask. Men in their 70s have different answers than women in their 30s. To explore this data more deeply, I’ve built a tool that allows you to filter these results down to specific types of respondents.

Read more: How to help take control of your brain and make better decisions

What are life’s biggest regrets?

Much can also be learned about how to make good life decisions by asking people what their biggest regrets are. Regret is a negative emotion you feel when reflecting on past decisions and wishing you had done something differently.

In 2012, Australian caregiver Bronnie Ware wrote a book about her experiences in palliative care. There were five regrets that dying people told her about most often:

• I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me
• I wish I hadn’t worked so hard
• I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings
• I wish I’d stayed in touch with my friends
• I wish I had let myself be happier.

This anecdotal evidence has received support from more rigorous academic research. For example, a 2011 study asked a nationally representative sample of 270 Americans to describe one significant life regret. The six most commonly reported regrets involved romance (19.3%), family (16.9%), education (14.0%), career (13.8%), finance (9.9%), and parenting (9.0%).

Although lost loves and unfulfilling relationships were the most common regrets, there was an interesting gender difference. For women, regrets about love (romance/family) were more common than regrets about work (career/education), while the reverse was true for men.

What causes regret?

Several factors increase the chances you will feel regret.

In the long run it is inaction — deciding not to pursue something — that generates more regret . This is particularly true for males, especially when it comes to romantic relationships . If only I had asked her out, we might now be happily married.

Poor decisions produce greater regret when it is harder to justify those decisions in retrospect. I really value my friends and family so why did I leave them all behind to take up that overseas job?

Given that we are social beings, poor decisions in domains relevant to our sense of social belonging — such as romantic and family contexts — are more often regretted . Why did I break up my family by having a fling?

Regrets tend to be strongest for lost opportunities : that is, when undesirable outcomes that could have been prevented in the past can no longer be affected. I could have had a better relationship with my daughter if I had been there more often when she was growing up.

The most enduring regrets in life result from decisions that move you further from the ideal person that you want to be . I wanted to be a role model but I couldn’t put the wine bottle down.

Making big life decisions without regrets

These findings provide valuable lessons for those with big life decisions ahead, which is nearly everyone. You’re likely to have to keep making big decisions over the whole course of your life.

The most important decisions in life relate to family and friends. Spend the time getting these decisions right and then don’t let other distractions — particularly those at work — undermine these relationships.

Seize opportunities. You can apologise or change course later but you can’t time travel. Your education and experience can never be lost.

Read more: Running the risk: why experience matters when making decisions

Avoid making decisions that violate your personal values and move you away from your aspirational self. If you have good justifications for a decision now, no matter what happens, you’ll at least not regret it later.

I continue to ask people to tell me about their biggest life decisions. It’s a great way to learn about someone. Once I have collected enough stories, I hope to write a book so that we can all learn from the collective wisdom of those who have been there before.

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The best decisions i have made.

You will make decisions in your life. Some of these decisions will be incredibly good and result with you experiencing a much improved quality of life. Other decisions will be poor, yielding little benefit, or worse, cause more damage than good. If there is one truth I have found it is that I’m not very good at predicting which decisions will have tremendous benefits and which ones will be a waste of time.

Pareto’s Principle, often referred to as the 80/20 rule, discovered by late Itallian economist, Vilfredo Pareto, applies strongly to the decisions you make in your life. A select few of my decisions have had major consequences in improving my own life, even those that seemed minor and unimportant at the time. As a result, I would share the best decisions I have made in my life, particularly those in the past few years.

Decision No. 9 – Give Up Television

Rounding out the bottom of my list, giving up television has been one of the most profitable decisions I have made. Initially I though that giving up television would simply save me some time as my schedule got busier. Although this was definitely true, the full consequences of this decision were far greater than I had first imagined.

Television provides a source of fairly low quality stimulation and interest. I say low-quality because the amount of actual interest is spread over a large area of boring and ad filled wasteland. By giving up television I noticed myself shifting more towards genuinely interesting social activities and entertainment. Although I had initially expected my entertainment and enjoyment value to go down because of this decision, the opposite turned out to be true. I have written previously about this decision, here .

Decision No. 8 – Listen to Audio Programs

Like many of the decisions that have really impacted the quality of my life, listening to audio programs seemed like a fairly innocuous one at first. I originally thought that listening to audio recordings would be a good way to gather new ideas when I couldn’t read. But listening to recordings has a far greater impact than that. Not only do you get fresh new idea, but you also get the emotional content of the message which is incredibly important in keeping your emotional energy high.

Audio recordings are also great because they don’t require any additional time or energy investment. You can listen to audio recordings when driving, exercising, cooking or doing any other activity that doesn’t require much of your mental resources. Adopting the habit of listening to recordings whenever I had the opportunity I could often listen to as much as an hour or two each day even when my schedule was completely full. I have written more about this here .

Decision No. 7 – Join Toastmasters

This was a completely unexpected but incredibly powerful decision. After hearing a bit of positive words about Toastmasters I decided to check out our local club on a whim. When I got there I was very surprised to be warmly greeted and encouraged. Not only did I find my communication skills improving greatly in a supportive environment, but the meetings were a blast.

Toastmasters is a great organization for improving your personal development even if you don’t think you need to improve communication skills (although I believe this is a core skill necessary for everyone). Far cheaper than a seminar you get tons of opportunity to improve your confidence and enjoy a great atmosphere. I am planning to join a new Toastmasters club in Winnipeg when I leave for University and I am hoping to get my Competent Toastmasters award in the upcoming year.

Decision No. 6 – Become an Early Riser

I am not an early riser by nature and being a teenager doesn’t help things. After reading How To Become An Early Riser by Steve Pavlina , I was inspired to make the change (although my personal experience disagrees with some of his recommendations on this issue). Two years ago I was waking up usually at about 7:30 AM on weekdays and sleeping in between 9-10 AM on weekends. From this starting point I worked to consistently start going to sleep and waking up earlier to a point where I was waking up at 5:30 AM this June.

At first I thought becoming an early riser would simply be a trade between morning hours and night hours. After making this change, however, I believe that the exchange is far more than that. By waking up earlier you are literally jump-starting your day to be filled with more productivity, energy and enthusiasm. A slow and late wake up tends to make it much harder to accelerate the day. I think this may have something to do with the psychological connections between rising early and being productive, but it is almost spooky how much more energy you can create out of an early rising day once you are used to it.

Decision No. 5 – Become a Strict Vegetarian

I’m not your typical animal-rights activist type of vegetarian. When I was eating meat a year ago I didn’t have any real moral quandary over it. In fact most probably would have considered me far closer to the insensitive scale than over pouring with emotion for animals. But in a typical self-serving fashion I began to learn a lot more about that health benefits of eating a vegetarian diet and decided to make a switch.

The amazing thing about this decision was simply that after becoming a vegetarian, I started to empathize more and more with all the other ethical and ecological reasons for becoming a vegetarian. Now I think if I were told that a vegetarian diet was equal to a meat eating diet in terms of health benefits (which I haven’t) I would probably still stick to this way of life simply because the other reasons have become far more compelling.

The purpose of this post isn’t to outline why you should become a vegetarian or even bring up reasons which I think most people are currently unaware. You will have to do that for yourself. I’m also not trying to get on an ethical platform to tout my beliefs. The only thing I would like to state is that doing research on becoming a vegetarian and experiencing it for myself broke down some of the things I had previously desensitized myself to.

Decision No. 4 – Read a Book Per Week

Almost a year ago I started reading at least one book per week. Some books take longer than others, but this is what I strive for on average. In the short term this habit doesn’t have many consequences on the quality of your life. But increasing reading has opened myself up to new ideas that have considerably affected the quality of my life.

Not only has increased reading given me many new personal development ideas, but I have been able to improve my skills as well. Based on some PHP and CSS books I read, I was able to make some changes to this website design that would have been impossible previously. Although reading can’t make up for actual experience, nothing facilitates learning more than a good book.

Decision No. 3 – Exercise Regularly

The decision to exercise for an hour almost every day of the week has brought numerous benefits to my overall quality of life. Aside from increased energy and fitness, exercise causes a boost in emotions, overall. Although sometimes it can be hard to compel yourself to put on those running shoes or head to the gym, I always find myself feeling better and more energized when I am heading back.

If you don’t exercise regularly, I would suggest incrementally improving the amount you are already doing, so if you don’t exercise at all, starting with a half hour, three times a week would probably be good. Moving it up as you get more accustomed to the exercise and you can make it a part of your daily routine. If you want to start an exercise program, I wrote about it here .

Decision No. 2 – Set Goals

Setting goals dramatically improves the quality of your life. Somewhat paradoxically, achieving goals has little or no effect. The real benefit to goal setting lies in setting and working towards them. Writing down a goal and working towards it has a powerful ability to make you feel motivated, inspired and that you are doing something meaningful. Although taking the occasional break from goal setting can be a good idea, carefully setting and working towards goals can have a huge impact on your life.

When I originally discovered goal-setting I used it like most people, simply to get results more quickly. However, the real power of goal-setting came when I realized that goals improve your life not by being achieved but by being worked towards. I have written about goal setting extensively and you can have my free full-version program, Goals! An Interactive Guide , to help you get started.

Decision No. 1 – Start Blogging

Simply put, starting this blog has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. More than anything else, starting this blog has really catapulted my own growth and quality of life. Not only have I got to fully articulate my ideas and set myself to a higher standard I have been able to reach a lot of people.

Originally I was skeptical about starting a blog, worrying that I might not be able to provide value or help. Now I can see clearly that it has been one of the best decisions I’ve made. Blogging certainly isn’t for everyone and it is a lot of work, but I would suggest that anyone who has even the slightest inclination give it a try. It might just change your life.

So there you have it, the top nine decisions that have really shaped my life. There are a lot of other decisions that have gotten me to this point, but these have been the major factors. Hopefully I will make even more decisions and I can post another list like this in the future. Many of them seemed like nothing at the time but they truly have been the best decisions I have made.

So now I have a question for you, what are some of the best decisions you have ever made?

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Describe the most difficult decision you’ve ever made – Sample interview answers

Human life is a long series of decisions that seems to have no beginning or end . According to scientists, we make approximately 35,000 of choices every single day . These range from very trivial choices (which seat to take in a bus, which bread roll to eat first, whether or not to smile on that cute passerby) to extremely complex decisions which can change the course of our life.

This interview question refers to difficult decisions, some choices we struggled to make. And it makes a perfect sense to ask it in a job interview, since your answer tells the hiring managers a lot about you: the way you think about a problem, whether you can analyze pluses and minuses of different options you have in any given situation, if you can eventually decide on your own, how do you bear with the consequences of you decision–if it turns out you made a wrong choice, etc.

Let’s have a look at 7 sample answers to this interesting interview question. Do not forget to read also my notes below the answers, as they will help you to understand how to make the right impression on the hiring managers with your answer.

7 sample answers to “Describe the most difficult decision you’ve ever made” interview question

• I am quite fortunate in my life, and I haven’t had to make decisions that would threaten my life , or  life of anyone else. Probably the most difficult decision I had to make in my young life so far was whether to study law, or opt for a vet school . I always felt close to animals, but I also wanted to have some impact in my work, and we had a long tradition of legal jobs in my family. The pressure was high, and everyone tried to convince me to study law–for obvious reasons (better salary, easier school, prestige of the job, family tradition, etc). But I felt that law wasn’t my true calling, and that I should follow my heart in this case. Hence I decided to go against my relatives , and opted for studies at a vet school. It wasn’t an easy decision, considering everything. At the end of the day, however, we should follow our own dreams , and not the dreams of our parents, or of anyone else.
• The most difficult decision I made was to leave my country , in order to pursue a better future. I had great ties with my family, and I enjoyed everything about our place–local community, nature, freshness of air, the way of life. But I also couldn’t ignore other things –the ever-present poverty, the environmental issues, the negative outlook of the future in my native city. Leaving the country and applying for a scholarship at the foreign university was definitely a very difficult decision to make, and I carefully considered all pluses and minuses, not only in terms of my happiness , but also in regards to the well-being of my parents, the local community, etc. At the end I came to a conclusion that I’ll be able to do more for them once I have a degree, once I earn a decent living somewhere else. I just had to sacrifice something for a better future. And I did it.
• It may sound strange to you, but the most difficult decision I’ve made in my life was ending a relationship I had with my long term boyfriend . We were in love when we were very young and life was simple. But as we grew older, our perspective of life changed. Suddenly we had different expectations, and wanted to pursue different directions in life. In my views, a couple should have the same vision, something big they can pursue together . But it wasn’t possible anymore with my boyfriend. Though being together for long eight years, I decided to end the relationship. It was tough emotionally , and it took me long time to make the final move, and to get over it emotionally. But at the end I think I made the right thing for the both of us.
• I had to fire a long term colleague and friend in my last managerial job. That was really tough to do, because we knew each other for years, and I also knew that they had a young family and the job was very important for them. But they made a big mistake, several times, and they also started to have problems with alcohol. I wanted to help them , and talked to them several times, suggesting some options. But they did not listen, and eventually I had to fire them. Looking back, I consider it a good decision, because emotions have no place in an effective management . But back then it was super difficult for me to make the decision.
• The most important decision of my life actually happened in a flash . I was returning home from work, driving my car as usually, going over a small bridge. But suddenly the car started sliding , there was an ice on the road, and before I knew I was in the wrong line, heading to hit another car. What can one do in such a situation? If I jumped on the breaks, I would make the situation worse. The car would start spinning and it would be impossible to control it. But I decided, or maybe it was higher intelligence , to stay calm and to just let go the breaks, hoping to hit a dry patch of the road again and regain control . And that’s exactly what happened, and I escaped the crash in the very last moment. This decision has probably saved my life and perhaps also the life of the other driver…
• I made the most difficult one just recently, and we would not be sitting here together if I didn’t make it . I decided to quit my job . Working for the same employer for ten years, I had the job security, good salary, and I found it relatively easy to handle the job. But I didn’t feel challenged anymore. I wasn’t happy in work . You know, it’s not so easy to start from scratch when you are 40. And I knew I would start from zero in a new career field. I had to sacrifice a lot, and also my family had to bear the consequences , which made my decision even more difficult. Nevertheless, I decided to quit. I believe it makes not sense to do the job you do not enjoy, to go to work only to earn money. And that was exactly what I was doing for the past two years. I made my choice, and here I am, interviewing for a job with you, ready to start from scratch again.
• Decision to adopt a child was the most difficult one I made . I wanted to be a mother, but I did not have luck with partners. I knew what people would say, and how having a child would make my life more difficult– it’s a huge responsibility before anything else . But I also wanted to follow my instincts, and I felt that I wanted a child more than anything else in my life, and was ready to sacrifice a lot for this dream. So I eventually opted for adoption, after weighting all pros and cons , and today, many years later, I can say it was the right decision.

Examples from work are great, but some answers are even more powerful

At the end of the day, your attitude matters for the hiring managers , not the particular situation you narrate. And you can demonstrate the right attitude describing any tough decision you made, even in your personal life. What is the right attitude in this case?

• When talking about work-related decision, it means to prioritize the company, to not let the emotions interfere with your work (for example when deciding about dismissing someone, see sample answer no. 4).
• Another thing is to show that you are ready sacrifice something , and step out of your comfort zone , when you try to find personal fulfillment and meaning in your work. Check sample answer no 2. or no 6. for your inspiration.

* Special Tip: This isn’t the only difficult question you will face while interviewing for any decent job. You will face questions about prioritization, dealing with pressure, dealing with ambiguity , and other tricky scenarios that happen in the workplace. If you want to make sure that you stand out with your answers and outclass your competitors, have a look at our Interview Success Package . Up to 10 premium answers to 31 tricky scenario based questions (+ more) will make your life much easier in the interviews. Thank you for checking it out!

Stories are easy to remember–do not hesitate to use them in your interview

Everyone loves to hear a good-feel story, or a story with a lot of drama. Such a story can illustrate something important in our life, and it can help the audience to learn an important lesson . Even if it doesn’t meet any of these goals, however, and there is just the drama, hiring managers will remember it long after the interviews.

For example when you escaped a car crash or another disaster making the right choice (see sample answer no. 5), or when you decided to end a long term relationship in order to pursue some higher ideals (or just your dreams, that suddenly didn’t alight with the dreams of your partner anymore). Check sample answer no. 3 for an illustration.

Conclusion, next steps

At the end of the day, the hiring managers should get an impression that you aren’t afraid to make an unpopular decision , and that you do not think only about yourself … And of course that you can actually make a decision on your own, and do not wait for someone else to make it for you.

As long as you manage to convince them about these things, they will be satisfied with your answer.

Ready to check 7 sample answers to other tricky interview questions ? I am sure you will choose something from our list:

• Tell us about a time when you had to make a decision without all information .
• Tell me about a time when you were forced to make an unpopular decision.
• Interview Success Package 2.0 – Answers to all 104 questions you may realistically face in an interview (paid product).
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The Important Decision I Made Essay Examples

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Business , Decision , Study , World , Life , Students , Education , United States

Published: 02/17/2020

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I have come to realize that life is a journey and every step we take comes with omen. Making a decision is one of the critical aspects in life. Regardless of whether the decision is major or minor it will always matter. I am an international student, and life in a foreign country is not a bed of roses, but the decision I made as I came seems to be working for me. Two years ago I made a decision to come to the United States to study. As we all know, the world today has become competitive, and the smart ones tend to survey the competition. I made this decision because I wanted to advance in my academics and build a better future. My elder brother, who is 25 years always motivated me in academics. My brother had been in the UK for seven years to advance his studies, and now was my turn to follow suit. One morning when I was talking to my father, I realized how the world has become very dynamic. The only thing that came into my mind was that education is the key for everything we do today. I quickly confirmed to my parents that I would go to the United States for studies, and they were happy about my thoughts. The morning became one of my best since I had something to make me smile. I have always been fascinated by American education since I was young. In fact, one of my dreams was to go to the United States and study. When time came for me to advance my studies I made the decision to be part of the U.S. academic system. This decision was not only fulfillment of my dream but a determination to build my career in the field of business. I actually chose business because to be my major since I have the passion to be part of the dynamic business environment. China is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and I believe my decision to study in United States and major in business will be a major boost in my career. This is because; I will have gathered adequate business skills, which may not be found in other business schools in the world. Cascadian was my best choice as I felt t had the right environment and it also work well. In my junior school, I could carry out various researches on schools in United States and its environs. The decision to study in United States has not only come as an achievement but also a challenge. The fact that I am an international student in English-speaking nation shows how difficult it is to communicate and interact. The United States environs have tremendously improved my communication skills, and after two, years I will be in a position to pursue a global profession. My decision to study in United States is a platform to many of my future decisions and plans. I am about to graduate in Marchand I am planning to go to Los Angeles for a four-year course in the University. The decision that I had to make has actually changed my life thanks to the role models and advice that I received from my elders. I will never regret finding my education roots in the United States.

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Reflecting on Life-Changing Choices: The Best Decision I Ever Made

Life is a tapestry woven with the threads of countless decisions. Some of these decisions stand out as pivotal moments, shaping the course of our lives in profound ways. In this article, we explore a collection of quotes that celebrate these life-changing choices, offering insights into the transformative power of making the ‘best decision ever.’ These quotes not only inspire but also provide a window into the impact of decisive moments in various lives.

Understanding the Impact of Significant Decisions

Before diving into the quotes, it’s essential to recognize the magnitude of certain decisions. These are the choices that redefine our paths, open new horizons, and often lead to our most fulfilling and rewarding life experiences. They remind us that sometimes, a single decision can lead to a cascade of positive changes.

Inspirational Quotes on Life-Altering Decisions

“Choosing to be positive and having a grateful attitude is going to determine how you’re going to live your life.” – Joel Osteen

“The most important decision I’ve made in business? The choices of people I have around me.” – Tom Ford

“Saying yes to happiness means learning to say no to the things and people that stress you out.” – Thema Davis

“The best decision I ever made was to live without pretending to be someone else.” 

“My best decision was to become a mother. It changed my entire perspective on life.” 

“Leaving my toxic environment behind was the best decision for my mental and emotional health.” 

“The best decision I ever made was to pursue my passion, not the paycheck.” 

“Choosing to love and commit to someone was the most significant decision I ever made.” 

“The decision to forgive and move on was the turning point in my life.” 

“I decided to take a leap of faith in my career, and it was the best decision I ever made.”

“The best decision of my life was embracing who I am, imperfections and all.” 

“The best decision I ever made was believing in myself.”

Embracing Life’s Transformative Choices

These quotes highlight the diverse nature of life-changing decisions. From personal growth and career leaps to love and forgiveness, each decision carries its unique impact and significance.

In conclusion, the ‘best decision ever’ is deeply personal and varies from one individual to another. These quotes offer a glimpse into the power of decisive moments that shape our lives. They remind us that sometimes, the most significant step we can take is to make a choice that aligns with our deepest values and desires.

1. How do I know if I’m making a life-changing decision?

Life-changing decisions often come with a sense of profound impact and personal significance. They align with your core values and have the potential to significantly alter your life path.

2. Can a small decision be life-changing?

Yes, even seemingly small decisions can have a ripple effect, leading to significant changes over time.

3. Is it normal to be afraid of making big decisions?

Yes, it’s natural to feel fear or apprehension when faced with significant choices, as they often involve stepping into the unknown.

Ultimately , the best decision one ever makes is often the one that leads to personal growth, happiness, and fulfillment. It’s about choosing paths that resonate with our true selves and embracing the journey that unfolds from there.

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Essay on Hardest Decision In Life

Students are often asked to write an essay on Hardest Decision In Life in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Hardest Decision In Life

Introduction.

Life is full of decisions. Some are easy, like choosing what to eat for breakfast. Others are hard, like deciding on a career path. The hardest decisions are often those that can change our lives forever.

What Makes a Decision Hard?

A decision becomes hard when it involves big changes, like moving to a new city, changing schools, or choosing a career. These decisions can be scary because they mean leaving behind what is familiar and stepping into the unknown.

The Role of Fear

Fear plays a big part in making a decision hard. We fear making the wrong choice and regretting it later. We fear the consequences of our decisions and how they will affect our lives.

Overcoming Fear

To overcome fear, we need to gather as much information as possible about the decision. We can talk to people who have faced similar decisions, research online, or seek professional advice.

The hardest decision in life is different for everyone. But with courage, information, and support, we can make these decisions and move forward in our lives.

250 Words Essay on Hardest Decision In Life

Understanding tough choices.

Life is like a journey filled with lots of turns, twists, and crossroads. At these crossroads, we often have to make decisions. Some are easy, while others can be really hard. The hardest decisions are the ones that can change our lives forever.

The Nature of Hard Decisions

Hard decisions often involve a lot of uncertainty. It’s like standing at a fork in the road, not knowing which path to take. We might have to choose between two things we love, or maybe decide to leave something behind. These decisions can make us feel scared, confused, and even lonely.

Examples of Hard Decisions

Let’s look at some examples. Choosing the right career can be a tough decision. We might love music, but also have a passion for science. Which path should we follow? Another hard decision could be about moving to a new place. We might be excited about the new opportunities, but also sad to leave our friends and family.

Dealing with Hard Decisions

So, how do we deal with hard decisions? First, it’s important to take time to think. We should weigh the pros and cons, and consider the consequences of each choice. Talking to someone we trust can also help. They can give us advice, or just listen when we need to share our feelings.

Learning from Decisions

Even though hard decisions can be scary, they also help us grow. Each choice we make teaches us something new about ourselves and the world around us. So, even if we make a mistake, it’s not the end of the world. We can always learn from it and move forward.

In conclusion, hard decisions are a part of life. They can be tough, but they also make us stronger and wiser. So, the next time you face a hard decision, remember: it’s just another step in your journey.

500 Words Essay on Hardest Decision In Life

What is a hard decision.

A hard decision is a choice that is tough to make. It often involves a situation where you have to pick one option out of many, and each option has its own set of benefits and drawbacks. These decisions can be about anything, from choosing which school to attend, to deciding whether to take a job offer or not. They are hard because they can change your life in big ways.

One of the hardest decisions you might face in life is choosing your career path. This is a big decision because it can shape your future. You might love to paint, but you also know that it can be hard to make a living as an artist. So, do you follow your passion or choose a more secure job?

Another hard decision could be about ending a friendship or relationship. If someone is hurting you or making you feel bad about yourself, you might need to decide to let them go. This can be very hard, especially if you care about this person a lot.

How to Make Hard Decisions

Making hard decisions can feel scary, but there are ways to make it easier. First, it can be helpful to gather as much information as you can. This can help you understand the possible outcomes of each choice.

Second, you can try to think about what is most important to you. What are your values? What are your goals? These can guide you in making your decision.

Finally, it can be helpful to talk to someone you trust about your decision. They can give you advice, or just listen, which can make you feel better.

The Impact of Hard Decicisions

Hard decisions can have a big impact on your life. They can lead to new opportunities, or close off old ones. They can change your relationships, your career, or your whole way of living.

But hard decisions can also help you grow. They can teach you about yourself, about what you value, and about how to deal with tough situations. They can make you stronger, wiser, and more resilient.

In the end, everyone has to make hard decisions in life. They can be scary and stressful, but they are also a part of growing up. By gathering information, thinking about your values, and talking to people you trust, you can make these decisions with confidence. And no matter what happens, remember that every decision is a chance to learn and grow.

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The Most Important Decision I have ever made Essay Example

• Pages: 5 (1118 words)
• Published: May 10, 2017
• Type: Essay

It is believed that the choices that one makes affect the direction their lives will take and therefore the levels of personal and material development they can attain. The importance of proper decision making is brought about by the fact that there are situations where one has to make decisions that will affect their lives. When decision making is a must then there is a more pronounced need to ensure that the decision made is the correct one and leads to the overall good.All these literature on decision making is not a result of research work rather is the result of experiences I have undergone in the near two decades I have inhabited planet earth.

The decision I make on what I will eat has a bea

ring on my health, the decisions I make on people I will associate with has an effect on my perception on life and the decision that I made on my career is the most important decision I ever made in my life. It is rare to find an all round student and I am lucky to be among the few. I was and still believe that I am good in nearly all area of study and extra-curricular activities.This unique ability placed me in a position where I was spoilt for choice on what I would like to be when I grew up and now that I am growing up I am proud of the decision I made along the way. A fond memory of my childhood years is the simple answer I had to the question that every normal child is asked: What do you want to be whe

you grow up? Funny, as it may be I never new what I wanted to do for I found everything interesting and my answer always was 'I don't know'. Experiences in life and academics however reduced my choice set to medicine, law and engineering.

I was good in sciences, history, languages and the levels of creativity that I exhibited was above the average thus the craft associated with engineering only required little molding. What made the dilemma even more interesting in the high levels of correlation that the disciplines have. It is worth noting that as much as engineering, law and medicine have different academic requirements they are both demanding and well paying. I had the ability to go for any and the considerations I placed in choosing a career which included the challenge in the field and the pay were doing little in helping me choose a career path.

It all started with a court case in which my father was involved and the lawyer basically conned him of his money and did little to defend him. This is from my perception of the lawyer and being a teenager the belief that everything is possible and in superheroes must have had a toll on me. The arguments brought forward by the defense attorney were in no way similar to those I had heard in my favorite justice series. This was the drop of a seed that was to develop to be the most important decision I ever made. The 2001 US scandal involved some fraudulent accounting and securities frauds.

It is a shame that some legal representatives were involved and this had an effect of shaping my

perception of the effects that the practice of law has on the society. My initial perception of the three competing fields was that medicine could be used to save lives and deal with diseases and therefore lead to a satisfied society, law was a weapon against crime and therefore the development of a society that is highly integrated, engineering was an avenue for the development of social infrastructure and therefore the development of a society that is self sustaining.The scandal however led to the realization that law can be used to save lives by averting scandals that have effects on the economy and develop a society that is self sustaining by ensuring order and developing avenues for dealing with issues that have a bearing on the society. No society can consider itself self sustaining if the level of crime is high and injustices go unpunished.

With this realization I knew that I was going to be involved with the justices system in one way or the other.An important quality that was developed by this experience that is of importance in the practice of law is patience. Patience is a virtue that is developed with time and by not rushing into stating what I wanted to be while knowing I was torn between professions, I was able to delay the decision till a time when I was prepared and sure of the decision. Law as an area of study is quite demanding and the same can be said of its practice.Patience is especially important in the modern context of law practice where court cases may even take years to be determined. Appreciation of patience is important

in maintaining objectivity and motivating the client to maintain his cool and therefore avoid making rush decisions that may affect the course of justice negatively.

Another area of importance that was developed as a result of the decision making process that led to the choice of law as a career path is decision making skills.Appreciation of the need for objectivity in decision making and appreciation of decision making as being a process that is affected by both internal and external variables with respect to the individual are important. Rush decisions are defined as instantaneous decision making processes and their effect are often skewed to the negative. Many have dropped out of colleges due to poor decisions in choosing units, poor choice of friends, poor choice of lifestyle and engagement in activities that are detrimental to academics and social welfare of the students.Objective decision making defined by consideration on individual ability, personal goals and interest is important in ensuring successful completion of any graduate level.

In summary, the decision making process and the choice of law as the desired career path are the reasons as to why I am writing this essay to seek admission in law school and are central to the development and appreciation of the role played by objectivity and patience in decision making that will be of importance to successful completion of an undergraduate level course in law should I be granted the opportunity.Moreover, decision making skills and patience come in handy in finding solutions to and preventing unnecessary squabbles in the society. These skills are also vital in the actual practice of law since they are part and parcel of what

a practicing lawyer should be armed with.

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Trump Has Few Ways to Overturn His Conviction as a New York Felon

The judge in Donald J. Trump’s case closed off many avenues of appeal, experts said, though his lawyers might challenge the novel theory at the case’s center.

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By Ben Protess ,  William K. Rashbaum and Jonah E. Bromwich

“This is long from over,” Donald J. Trump, the former president and current felon, declared on Thursday, moments after a Manhattan jury convicted him on 34 counts of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal.

Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, is banking on the jury not having the final word on the case. He has already outlined a plan to appeal a verdict that on Friday he labeled “a scam.”

But even if the former — and possibly future — president could persuade voters to ignore his conviction, the appellate courts might not be so sympathetic. Several legal experts cast doubt on his chances of success, and noted that the case could take years to snake through the courts, all but ensuring he will still be a felon when voters head to the polls in November.

And so, after a five-year investigation and a seven-week trial, Mr. Trump’s New York legal odyssey is only beginning.

The Trump Manhattan Criminal Verdict, Count By Count

Former President Donald J. Trump faced 34 felony charges of falsifying business records, related to the reimbursement of hush money paid to the porn star Stormy Daniels in order to cover up a sex scandal around the 2016 presidential election.

The former president’s supporters are calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene, though that is highly unlikely. In a more likely appeal to a New York court, Mr. Trump would have avenues to attack the conviction, the experts said, but far fewer than he has claimed. The experts noted that the judge whose rulings helped shape the case stripped some of the prosecution’s most precarious arguments and evidence from the trial.

The appeal will be a referendum on the judge, Juan M. Merchan, who steered the trial through political and legal minefields even as Mr. Trump hurled invective at him and his family. Justice Merchan, a no-nonsense former prosecutor, said that he was keenly aware “and protective of” Mr. Trump’s rights, including his right to “defend himself against political attacks.”

Mark Zauderer, a veteran New York litigator who sits on a committee that screens applicants for the same court that will hear Mr. Trump’s appeal, said that Justice Merchan avoided pitfalls that often doom convictions.

“This case has none of the usual red flags for reversal on appeal,” Mr. Zauderer said. “The judge’s demeanor was flawless.”

Even if Justice Merchan’s rulings provide little fodder, Mr. Trump could challenge the foundation of the prosecution’s case. Mr. Trump’s lawyers note that Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, used a novel theory to charge Mr. Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

In New York, that crime is a misdemeanor, unless the records were faked to conceal another crime. To elevate the charges to felonies, Mr. Bragg argued that Mr. Trump had falsified the records to cover up violations of a little-known state law against conspiring to win an election by “unlawful means.”

Mr. Trump’s conspiracy occurred during his first run for the White House. When Mr. Trump arranged to buy and bury damaging stories about his sex life, including a porn star’s story of a tryst, he was trying to influence the 2016 election, Mr. Bragg said.

In an appeal, Mr. Trump’s lawyers are expected to argue that Mr. Bragg inappropriately stretched the state election law — a convoluted one, at that — to cover a federal campaign. And they could claim that the false records law itself does not apply to Mr. Trump’s case.

“I certainly don’t think there has been a prosecution of falsifying business records like this one,” said Barry Kamins, a retired judge and expert on criminal procedure who teaches at Brooklyn Law School. “This is all uncharted territory, as far as an appellate issue.”

None of this criticism will surprise Mr. Bragg, a career prosecutor who has shown himself to be comfortable with innovative applications of law. Mr. Bragg’s head of appeals, Steven Wu, a fast-talking, Yale-trained litigator, attended much of the trial. When the verdict was read, he was sitting in the second row, to Mr. Bragg’s right.

It is now Mr. Wu’s job to ensure that Mr. Trump does not escape his conviction.

Over a lifetime spent in legal gray areas, Mr. Trump has developed a knack for delaying or dodging criminal consequences. Just as law enforcement authorities would appear to close in on him, and his adversaries assumed he was on the ropes, Mr. Trump would prevail.

In his four years as president, Mr. Trump survived two impeachments, a federal investigation and a special counsel inquiry. In his post-presidential life, he has been indicted four times in four different cities, but three of those cases are mired in delays, thanks in part to the U.S. Supreme Court.

He was, to foes and friends alike, “Teflon Don.”

But now, just like every other criminal defendant in New York, the deck is stacked against him. Appeals courts typically frown upon overturning jury decisions, barring some glaring error or misconduct.

Justice Merchan will sentence Mr. Trump on July 11, just days before he attends the Republican National Convention to be anointed as the party’s presidential nominee. The judge could sentence him to as long as four years in prison, or impose only probation.

The sentencing will start a 30-day clock for Mr. Trump to file a notice of appeal. That notice is just a legal stake in the ground. Mr. Trump will then have to mount the actual appeal at the New York State’s Appellate Division, First Department. The panel of appellate court judges most likely would not hear arguments until next year, and might not issue a decision until early 2026.

And that won’t necessarily be the final say. Mr. Trump or Mr. Bragg’s office could ask the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, to review the decision.

Mr. Trump might also have a final option: the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Trump, who already tried and failed to move the case to federal court, could try again if he were elected.

It would be a long shot. Procedurally, it is exceedingly difficult for a state defendant to reach the Supreme Court without exhausting state appeals.

“This is a garden-variety state court conviction,” Mr. Zauderer said. “I don't see a plausible path to the Supreme Court.”

Yet the court has appeared sympathetic to Mr. Trump in one of his other criminal cases. And in an appearance on Fox News on Friday, the Republican speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, argued that the justices should take up Mr. Trump’s cause .

“I think that the justices on the court — I know many of them personally — I think they’re deeply concerned,” said Mr. Johnson, a Trump ally. “I think they’ll set this straight, but it’s going to take a while.”

At his news conference at Trump Tower on Friday, Mr. Trump outlined a blueprint for his appeal, airing a litany of grievances about Justice Merchan , whom he called “a tyrant.”

“He wouldn’t allow us to have witnesses or have us talk or allow us to do anything,” Mr. Trump claimed, adding that witnesses were “literally crucified by this man who looks like an angel, but he’s really a devil.”

Those accusations were false. Justice Merchan did not prohibit Mr. Trump from calling witnesses, though he did limit the testimony of a defense expert who was set to testify about election law but ultimately never took the stand. (Justice Merchan determined that the expert’s testimony about the law would intrude on the judge’s own responsibility.)

Mr. Trump also claimed that Justice Merchan effectively prevented him from testifying in his own defense. The judge, he said, would have allowed prosecutors to question him about his past legal troubles, and “everything that I was ever involved in.”

That was a significant exaggeration.

Defendants routinely premise appeals on a judge’s decision about how much prosecutors may cross-examine them. They also often argue that judges have allowed evidence beyond the scope of the charges. But Justice Merchan refused to let the prosecution enter a variety of damaging evidence about Mr. Trump, including accusations that he sexually assaulted women.

Both of those issues were at the heart of the Court of Appeals’s recent decision to overturn the sex crimes conviction of Harvey Weinstein, the former Hollywood producer. Yet Mr. Kamins, who was one of the lawyers who handled Mr. Weinstein’s appeal, said they would not carry the day for Mr. Trump.

Justice Merchan, who began every trial day with a “good morning” for Mr. Trump, did occasionally scold him for misbehaving in the courtroom, or violating a gag order that barred attacks on witnesses and jurors. But the judge did so outside the presence of the jurors.

When the porn star, Stormy Daniels, was on the stand, and Mr. Trump muttered “bullshit,” the judge waited for the jury to leave before summoning a defense lawyer to the bench. “I am speaking to you here at the bench because I don’t want to embarrass him,” the judge told Mr. Trump’s lead lawyer, Todd Blanche.

Justice Merchan bent over backward when Mr. Trump repeatedly violated the gag order.

“Mr. Trump, it’s important to understand that the last thing I want to do is to put you in jail,” he said. “You are the former president of the United States, and possibly the next president.”

Justice Merchan also reined in the prosecution’s efforts to lower the legal bar for convicting Mr. Trump. In his instructions to the jury about how to apply the law to Mr. Trump’s case, the judge refused to include suggestions from prosecutors that would have made a conviction all but certain.

Still, no judge is perfect. At times during the trial, Justice Merchan appeared to lose his temper, castigating the defense for arguments he saw as frivolous or repetitive.

And Mr. Trump’s lawyers are expected to challenge Justice Merchan’s decisions to keep the trial in Manhattan, where the former president is deeply unpopular, and to bless Mr. Bragg’s theory of the case.

The law required Mr. Bragg to show that Mr. Trump caused a false entry in the records of “an enterprise.” Mr. Trump’s lawyers might argue that no such enterprise was involved. The documents, they believe, belonged to Mr. Trump personally, not his company.

The second crime — the election law conspiracy — provides another possible avenue for Mr. Trump’s lawyers. The legal theory underpinning the prosecution included not only untested law, but a complex combination of statutes, one tucked inside another like Russian nesting dolls.

This theory required Justice Merchan to provide the jury with byzantine legal instructions.

“The more complex the jury instructions, the more likely they are to bear appellate issues,” said Nathaniel Z. Marmur, a New York appellate lawyer. “And these are some of the most complex instructions one could imagine.”

Long before the appeal is decided, Mr. Trump’s political fate will have been set. In the single day since the jury convicted him, campaign donations have poured into his coffers, and Mr. Trump cast Election Day as the “real verdict.”

His opponent, President Biden, said that the conviction alone would not thwart a Trump presidency .

“There’s only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box,” he said.

Ben Protess is an investigative reporter at The Times, writing about public corruption. He has been covering the various criminal investigations into former President Trump and his allies. More about Ben Protess

William K. Rashbaum is a Times reporter covering municipal and political corruption, the courts and broader law enforcement topics in New York. More about William K. Rashbaum

Jonah E. Bromwich covers criminal justice in New York, with a focus on the Manhattan district attorney’s office and state criminal courts in Manhattan. More about Jonah E. Bromwich

Our Coverage of the Trump Hush-Money Trial

Guilty Verdict : Donald Trump was convicted on all 34 counts  of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal that threatened his bid for the White House in 2016, making him the first American president to be declared a felon .

What Happens Next: Trump’s sentencing hearing on July 11 will trigger a long and winding appeals process , though he has few ways to overturn the decision .

Reactions: Trump’s conviction reverberated quickly across the country  and around the world . Here’s what voters , New Yorkers , Republicans , Trump supporters  and President Biden  had to say.

The Presidential Race : The political fallout of Trump’s conviction is far from certain , but the verdict will test America’s traditions, legal institutions and ability to hold an election under historic partisan tension .

Making the Case: Over six weeks and the testimony of 20 witnesses, the Manhattan district attorney’s office wove a sprawling story  of election interference and falsified business records.

Legal Luck Runs Out: The four criminal cases that threatened Trump’s freedom had been stumbling along, pleasing his advisers. Then his good fortune expired .

Column: Trump wins! (One way or another.) Here’s why

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No matter what verdict the jury delivers in Donald Trump ’s trial on business fraud charges in New York, one outcome is predictable: The former president will react with defiance and denial — plus a declaration of victory if he isn’t found guilty on all counts.

A more important effect is almost as predictable: The verdict won’t have much impact on his chances of winning the presidential election.

Even a finding of guilty on tangled charges that Trump committed business fraud to hide hush money payments to an adult film actor is likely to have only a minor effect on his standing in the eyes of most voters.

A conviction, which the former president would almost certainly appeal, won’t prevent him from staying in the race. And if he wins the election, he stands a good chance of avoiding any serious penalties, at least while he’s in office.

Trump faces four possible verdicts: guilty on all counts, a split decision, a hung jury or acquittal.

World & Nation

Jurors in Trump hush money trial end 1st day of deliberations after asking to rehear testimony

Trump trial: The jury of seven men, five women ended the first day of deliberations in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president.

May 29, 2024

GUILTY — It won’t be easy to spin a conviction on all 34 counts as a victory, but there are plenty of ways Trump can mitigate the consequences. He’ll continue to claim that the charges were flimsy and the process was rigged against him. And if he appeals the verdict, that will have two effects: It will almost certainly keep him out of jail until long after election day, and it will allow him to argue (correctly) that a conviction can’t be considered final while it’s under challenge.

Donald Trump puts America on notice again: If he loses, he won’t go quietly

Trump was asked whether the election would end in political violence if he lost. “It depends,” the former president said. Here’s what he meant by that.

May 6, 2024

SPLIT DECISION — If Trump is found guilty on some counts but not on others, he can be relied on to declare it a moral victory. He’ll almost certainly appeal any and all convictions, and argue that the muddled outcome proves that the charges against him were weak from the start.

HUNG JURY — It takes only one of 12 jurors to block a jury from delivering a verdict — a “hung jury,” normally resulting in a mistrial. If the jury can’t reach a decision, Trump will exult that even a jury of Manhattanites in one of the most liberal jurisdictions in the nation failed to find him culpable — another moral victory declaration.

ACQUITTAL — This would be total victory. The candidate would claim that it proves he’s been right all along — and that his opponents have unfairly “weaponized” the judicial system against him.

Column: Trump’s hush-money criminal trial could be a cure for ‘Trump amnesia’

What if Trump’s hush-money criminal trial, with details on Stormy Daniels, Karen McDougal, the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape, is a cure for voters’ ‘Trump amnesia’?

April 22, 2024

Why do I say even a guilty verdict isn’t likely to dent Trump’s electoral prospects? Because that’s what the smartest political pollsters I know, both Republicans and Democrats, say.

“A conviction in this case is unlikely to play a significant role” in the election, Democratic strategist Mark Mellman said. “It’s possible that the polls will flutter and then return to where they were. And it’s possible that there won’t be a flutter.”

“The most likely impact of a guilty verdict is negligible,” Republican pollster Whit Ayres agreed.

An ABC News/Ipsos poll last month found that that 16% of Trump’s current voters said they would reconsider supporting him if he were convicted in the New York case, and an additional 4% said they would definitely stop supporting him. But voters are generally bad at predicting how they would react to hypothetical future events, the pollsters warned.

In 1998, Mellman noted, plenty of Democrats told pollsters they thought then-President Clinton should resign if he were impeached for lying about a sexual relationship with a White House intern. But when the Republican-led House of Representatives actually impeached Clinton, his voters stuck with him and his popularity soared.

Trump has spent months attacking the legitimacy of the criminal cases against him — preparing his supporters, in effect, to ignore a guilty verdict.

And he has shown, over and over, that constant repetition can bend public opinion his way.

Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump in occasionally graphic testimony

The porn actor’s testimony, even if sanitized and stripped of tell-all details, has been the most-awaited spectacle in Donald Trump’s hush money trial.

May 7, 2024

‘Stop this from getting out’: Star witness Michael Cohen implicates Trump

The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial, Michael Cohen, has taken the stand.

May 13, 2024

A case in point: Trump’s insistence that the 2020 presidential election was rigged. A year ago, the Monmouth University Poll found that 68% of Republicans said they believed President Biden won the election through fraud. By February, with Trump campaigning relentlessly on his bogus election claims, that number ticked up to 75%.

“We have seen, over eight years, a series of events that caused people to say, ‘Surely this time, Trump will lose support.’ But he never really does,” Ayres said.

As for undecided voters, five months of campaigning still remain. Voters who haven’t made up their minds are unlikely to decide in the fall on the basis of a verdict on business-fraud charges — a verdict that will be under appeal, at worst — that was delivered in spring.

Trump has already scored at least one important victory. Six months ago, he was facing four serious criminal cases, any of which could have derailed his presidential campaign: a federal case stemming from his supporters’ invasion of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021; a federal case on charges he illegally retained highly classified documents; a Georgia election interference case; and the New York business fraud case.

Now he has contrived to postpone a final reckoning in all four until long past the election.

The delays don’t make the charges go away.

But if Trump wins the election, he can order the Justice Department to halt the two federal cases. And under most legal precedent, state courts would put his prosecutions in New York and Georgia on hold while he’s serving as president. If he wins in November and completes a full term, that means he won’t face prosecution before 2029, when he’ll be 82.

In short, no matter how the New York trial concludes, Trump will survive to fight another day — and perhaps even to serve another four years as president.

It has often been noted that it is unprecedented for a former president to face criminal charges. It is equally unprecedented, and equally noteworthy, that he can go on trial, face possible conviction — and have it barely dent his political fortunes.

Read more McManus columns on Trump: Trump has big plans for California if he wins a second term. Fasten your seatbelts Trump wants to round up over a million undocumented migrants from California. Here’s how he might do it Trump loves fossil fuels; California wants clean energy. Cue collision

More to Read

Opinion: Could the guilty verdict cost Donald Trump the election? Sure it could

June 4, 2024

Column: Trump’s conviction offers a character test — of America and its values

Trump guilty verdict yet to show significant impact in presidential polls

June 3, 2024

Trump responds to his guilty verdict by falsely claiming a ‘rigged trial’ and attacking star witness

May 31, 2024

Ali: The jury has spoken. What happens next will be a great test of American democracy

Opinion: The guilty verdict only makes Donald Trump stronger

May 30, 2024

Litman: Does it matter that Donald Trump just became a convicted criminal? Of course it does

Editorial: Even before guilty verdict, Trump was unfit to serve

What verdict will voters render after jury finds Trump guilty in hush money case?

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Doyle McManus has been a reporter for the Los Angeles Times in Washington, the Middle East and many other places for more than 40 years. Born in San Francisco, he’s a graduate of Stanford University.

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