Fastball, Curve, or Change-up?
Decisions are a part of life - what time to get up in the morning, what to eat for breakfast, what friends to hang around, etc. We cannot escape the decisions that face us - no matter how hard we sometimes may try. Youth today have many more choices than that of past generations. In many cases, black and white has evolved into grey and cloudy. Kids must be armed with the skills, knowledge, and most importantly, the confidence to make difficult decisions. Unless your parents sit beside you at school, or your teachers go on your family vacations, you are going to have to make some difficult decisions on your own.
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it." - Yogi Berra
Everyday, we make up to 17,000 decisions. Some of them will be easy. Others will be more difficult. You make some decisions automatically - you don't stop and think about them before reacting. Others require lots of thinking. But, both kinds involve a complicated mental process. Every time you make a decision, your mind goes through some version of the following steps:
1. Conflict - Why do you have to make a decision?
2. Goal - What do you want to happen?
3. Alternatives - What are your choices?
4. Consequences - What good or bad things can happen?
5. Decision - Making your choice.
6. Reflection - How do you feel about your choice?
Decisions are affected by a variety of factors, including peer pressure and peer influence. They are not the same. Youth are often teased and taunted into doing something they do not want to do or that they know is wrong. This is peer pressure and is an external force. Peer influence, however; is an internal force created out of a desire to be accepted. In coming years, you will most definitely be invloved in situations where important decisions need to be made. It is therefore essential to be aware of these forces in order to prevent them from dictating your ability to make the RIGHT decisions!
"If you are going to do something tonight that you will be sorry for tomorrow morning,...sleep late." - Henry Youngman
Suffice to say, everyone wants to be successful in life - whether it is being lawyer, doctor, or Major League baseball player. The harsh reality though, is that you can never get there constantly making poor decisions. Now that you are aware of the decision making process - the steps that go into making decisions as well as pressures and influences that may affect them - you need practice to gain the confidence and self-esteem to help make the decisions that are RIGHT for you!
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