Ep #16: How to Make Better Decisions

You are listening to The Life Coach Business Podcast, Episode number 16.

Welcome to The Life Coach Business Podcast, a show for coaches who are ready to up-level their business and take their impact, leadership, and results to a whole new level. If you’re ready to start taking powerful action and become the leader your business needs in order to grow and thrive, this show is for you. I’m your host, Amanda Karlstad, certified life and business coach, and entrepreneurial leadership expert. Now, let’s get down to business.

Hello, and welcome, everyone. I am so glad you’re tuning in today, wherever you are. I am currently in my home office and I have to say, I am working to stay warm today as I record this podcast for you. In fact, according to my phone, it’s about negative six degrees here today. It is frigid.

And it’s funny because I actually had both fire places on earlier today and I actually forgot they were on until I heard them and remembered that they had been on. So, for those of you that don’t know, I live in Minnesota, and today is one of the coldest days yet this year. And you can definitely feel it.

But living here, we know, for those of us that do, this is just par for the course. And I think, for people who have never experienced a winter like we experience here, it can definitely be a shock. And I just think the fact is, when you’ve lived here for any amount of time, you just expect it and you get the gear that you need and you learn how to handle it. And it’s just kind of what we do.

So, I have to say though, even though I’ve lived here and I know all of this and I’ve lived here most of my adult life, it’s still a shock when it gets this cold. And so, wherever you’re at today, I hope you are warm.

Alright, so, I am super excited to talk to you all again this week. I always say this, but I am always excited to talk to you. And I want you to know that.

So, for those of you that are new to the podcast, welcome. I’m so happy you found it, however you happened to find it. I love that you’re here, so welcome. And to all of my loyal listeners, thank you, thank you, thank you for tuning in. So glad that you’re here.

And the conversation that I wanted to have with you all today is actually a conversation that I started last week. And so, I decided that I wanted to continue that conversation. And that conversation is regarding decisions.

So, for those of you that are new, maybe this is the first time you’re tuning in, you are definitely going to want to go back and listen to last week’s episode on decisions. That was episode number 15. Because today, I want to take this conversation even deeper.

And so, we’re going to talk more about the real power of decision today. It’s something I’m feeling totally inspired to talk with you about. And so, in last week’s episode, I introduced you to a distinction that I think is super important. And that distinction is understanding that your beliefs that your thoughts are actually decisions that you have made in your life.

Now, some of those decisions are actually decisions that were made on a subconscious level. And I talked about this in detail in last week’s episode. So again, for those of you who haven’t yet listened to that episode, I highly recommend you go back and listen to that episode after this one because it really does frame the conversation that we’re about to have.

And in that episode, I explain that our beliefs, our thoughts, are just in fact decisions that we’ve made. And I think it’s really important to understand this, especially if you’re building a business. And so that’s why I want to go deeper into this today because, last week, I talked a lot about what really is at the foundation of this, which is awareness. The foundation is really first having the awareness to understand how your thoughts and belief are in fact decisions, and it’s then starting to become aware of what those decisions have been.

So, let me give you an example. For many of my clients, many of them, when we first start working together, they usually have a sense of awareness as to what some of their decisions have been when it comes to building their business. They’re usually pretty fairly self-aware.

And what tends to happen is that, as we dive in and really go deep with this work, it really becomes apparent, and many times on a subconscious level, where they’ve been making decisions about their business based on experiences or circumstances in the past. And it’s because they’ve had those certain experiences, those certain circumstances in their life that they’ve made decisions about themselves.

They’ve made decisions about their abilities and they’ve likely made decisions about the circumstances that very often play out today in their life as they’re building their business. And all of this, I find extremely fascinating.

And what I will say is that it’s also extremely liberating when you do this work on a deep level and when you truly come to understand and see what those subconscious operating systems really are. Because what I see so often is that once you become aware of these decisions, whether that is on a subconscious or a conscious level, you now have the power to make a new decision. And that’s what I want to focus on today. It’s how to make new decisions that align with where you want to go.

Okay, so, I’m going to say this; this is where all of your power resides, my friends. This is where, as you’re building your business, you have the most impact where you can get the most traction when you start practicing what we’re going to talk about today, and that is making new decisions.

And specifically, I want us to focus on making new decisions from your future self, from a future state of you that already has accomplished what it is you want to accomplish. So let me say that again; it’s getting into the habit, into the practice, the intentional practice of making new decisions from your future self. It’s that future version of yourself that has already accomplished what it is you’re trying to accomplish.

So, let me explain. Einstein has a quote that says, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” And I think this quote speaks to this perfectly because how I interpret this is that in order for us to solve the problem that we have at hand, we must first practice a more intentional way of thinking. And that always starts with awareness, as what we’ve been talking about.

But once we have that awareness, we then have to change our level of thinking so that we’re looking at that problem through, very often, a completely different lens than what we’re used to. And that lens that we usually look through, our circumstances, are from a lens of old decisions that we’ve made.

So, in order to truly solve, in order to truly move forward, we have to start challenging our current level of thinking. And one extremely effective way to do this is to think through the lens of having already accomplished that which we want.

So, let me give you an example. So, in my business, for example, I have a very large revenue goal that I’m working towards. I have a very specific goal that I am working towards this year in 2020, and a very specific goal I’m working towards in 2021.

So, as I’ve been making decisions about my business, about my business model, about my offerings, about all different things in my business, this is something I’ve been practicing intentionally on a daily basis. And so it’s something that I’ve been having conversations with others, and it’s also work that I’ve been doing myself.

And that is making decisions from this place, from that future version of myself that’s already accomplished those revenue goals. So, rather than looking at these decisions that I do need to make from a viewpoint of today, I’m choosing instead to look at everything from the lens of that future version of myself. And I’m asking myself questions and allowing myself to respond to those questions from that future version of me. And what has been so fascinating about all of this is looking at the difference between those responses.

So, for instance, some of you might be pondering whether or not you should hire a coach to help you build and grow your business. And many of you might be looking at this investment through the lens of your current circumstances. And probably, one of your first considerations is whether or not you can afford it.

And so, you’re probably assessing your accounts and looking at the investment and questioning whether or not you can really fit it into the budget. And I’m sure you’ve got other considerations as well, but let’s just use this as an example.

And so, let’s just say, when you look at this circumstance, when you look at this decision through your current lens, from your current self, the response you might get might sound more logical. It might sound like I can’t afford this right now or it’s not in the budget, something to that effect.

And that’s working from your circumstance, like we talked about in last week’s episode, versus what we’re talking about here today; looking at what that future state of yourself, that future version of you might say and how that future version of you might respond. So, for instance, that future version of you, if you asked that version the same questions, that future version might say, “Totally go for it. You can do this.” Or you might hear, “This is exactly what you need in order to reach your goals,” or some other version of that.

And so, what I want you to notice is how different these two responses are. The first response, the response from your current self is probably one that is rooted in all the fear. It’s probably one that brings up all the fears, all the doubts, all the insecurities.

Whereas the future self, that future version that has already accomplished what it is that you really want is probably telling you to go for it. Instead, it’s working from possibility versus working from circumstance. And that’s the power of intentionally making new decisions, and especially making those decisions from your future state of self.

And so, I have to say, this is something that I see over and over again, especially with those that are really struggling to build their business or they’re not getting the traction that they need. It’s that they’re making decisions from their current circumstance and they’re not tapping into this intentional decision-making process that requires you to change your current level of thinking. And it requires you to tap into this future state of yourself.

So, I have to be honest, I see so many in the industry that are making decisions that are keeping them small, so many that are making decisions that aren’t actually helping them move forward, that are instead keeping them in this spin cycle, and so many that are making decisions from where they are today versus making decisions from where they are going.

This is a huge distinction and it makes a huge difference. And so what I really want you all to see here is that you have immense power in how you intentionally make decisions because, as I’ve said, your decisions do in fact dictate your destiny.

And so, what I really want to challenge you all today is to look at this for yourself, look at what level are you really making your decisions from? Is it from that future state of yourself, that self that’s already accomplished the goal, that’s already achieved what it is that you really want? Or is it making decisions from where you are today? Is it making decisions instead from your current circumstances?

I will tell you that the most successful entrepreneurs I work with and know are making intentional decisions based off of their future self, that self that has already done that which they want, that self that is making decisions from possibility rather than circumstance. And it’s being extremely aware of how they’re making decisions and they’re practicing it daily. And they’re also seeking guidance from others who can help them break through it if they need to.

Spend time with your future self every single day. That is what I want for you today. Start spending time with that future version of you. Get very clear about her. Start asking how she would respond, rather than staying in your current state and operating from your current set of circumstances.

I want you to understand that this all comes down to decision. Your level of success depends on your ability to make decisions that are in line with that which you really want in life and in your business, not at the effect of it. this can make all the difference.

Alright, everyone, I hope you have a fantastic week. I’ll talk to you all again very soon. Take care, bye-bye.

Hey, before you go, I have something amazing I want to share with you. To celebrate the launch of the show, I’m going to be giving away three free VIP Strategy Sessions where I’ll be diving deep into your business and helping you put a strategy in place for the next 90 days, so you have a real game plan on how to create results in your business, and finally gain momentum.

I’m going to be giving away one free VIP Strategy Session, the same VIP Strategy Session I offer to all of my highest-level clients, to three lucky listeners who subscribe, rate, and review this show on Apple Podcasts. Visit amandakarlstadcoaching.com/podcastlaunch to learn more about the contest and how to enter. I’ll be announcing the winners on the show in an upcoming episode. Thanks so much.

Thank you for listening to this episode of The Life Coach Business Podcast. If you want to learn more about how to build, grow and scale your business and accelerate your results, visit amandakarlstadcoaching.com.